Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland Rotorua

So this morning we were up early to head to the car rental place to pick up our wheels for the day. It wasn't exactly the Mini Cooper Fran was hoping for, or the Ferrari Chris was hoping for. But for $65, what did we expect?! It had 4 wheels and fitted us and our belongings in it, so we were good to go! As it was still only 8.30am, we had plenty of …

We drove out to the Wai-O-Tapu thermal park today (after a little involuntary detour). We got there in time to watch the Lady Knox geyser erupt. Unlike Old Faithful, this geyser needs a little encouragement. The ranger drops some environmentally safe surfactant into the cone and within a few minutes, steam and foam come shooting out. I hadn't …

Heute drehte sich alles um die Erde – oder eher was von unter ihr hervorkommt. Wir haben das Wai-O-Taupo besucht, das „Thermal Wonderland". In der Umgebung von Rotorua gibt es eine unheimlich große Vielfalt von geothermaler Aktivität. Dazu gehören spuckende Geysire, brodelnde Schlammlöcher, bunt gefärbte Böden und Seen, sowie der …

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Gisterenavond om 20u30 een 'klop van de hamer' gekregen (nog steeds die jetlag!) en als een blok in slaap gevallen. De jetlag speelt ons nog altijd parten: ’s morgens zijn we erg vroeg wakker (rond 5 à 6 uur), en ’s avonds is onze pijp vroeg uit en kruipen we onder de lakens tussen 20u en 21u. Te moe om …

Drove down to Rotorua to get a close look to the vulcanic activity in the area.

Wir hatten eine echt kuehle Nacht nach dem Tongariro Crossing. Am Morgen gibt es Frost und einmal mehr sind bin ich froh den zweiten Schlafsack dabei zu haben. Nach dem Fruehstueck brechen wir auf und kommen gleich mal an Neuseelands groesstem See entlang - Lake Taupo. Das Gebiet ist ein riesiger Vulkan, der vor vor etwa 2000 Jahren massiv …

Before we went to bed Kate and I had spent about 20 minutes standing outside the camper slightly awestruck at the sight above us. We had crossed paths making sure we both had visited the toilet before the night's sleep as the little huts can be a bugger to find in the pitch black and inadvertently looked up to discuss what a clear night it was. It …

We were tired the next morning from such a full day of geothermal wonders the day before, but we hauled ourselves up early because there was a sight we didn't want to miss. The Lady Knox geyser at Waiotapu goes off every morning at 10:15am, and we were going to be there to see it!

Waiotapu is another geothermal area, this one being a …

We awoke to amazing views over Lake Taupo (after our walk we managed to find a picnic spot with a view which we decided to stay at - a lack of no camping signs = Freda stays the night) and busloads of people jumping out to take photos as we had our breakfast. We headed into town for the best crazy golf ever. It was themed around local sights …

Rotorua stinks. I mean in the smell way not the ‘it’s a really rubbish place’ way. An aura of sulphur hangs over the place and so no matter what the weather is it just smells of eggs the whole time :( it can get so bad that I have known hungover people to vomit – haven’t I Tara?

This sulphury smell …

... hot and cold pools, bubbling hot springs and hissing fumeroles. It can all be found here. We arrived early at the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland and bought our tickets. We then headed to the Lady Knox Geyser, which erupts every day at 10.15am, thanks to ...

... . After debating whether or not to just spend the day in the van we motivated ourselves to take a trip to Wai-O-Tapu "thermal wonderland". More bubbling mud and sulphurous pools but better colours this time! The main attraction here is Lady Knox geyser ...

... The next morning the weather was a little brighter, through still windy. We packed up camp and headed down to Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, supposedly the most spectacular of the many thermal sites in the Rotorua area. The brochure promised that ...

More torrential rain overnight but think the clouds have run out of water fortunately. Drove further north to Wai-o-Tapu Thermal 'Wonderland' where we first start off at the Lady Knox Geyser which goes off every day at 10.15am. We wondered how come ...

... sulfur smell. After tracking down the Green and Blue lakes we drove to the next thermal field (what for it) the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. It was basically Hell's Gate on a larger scale, but still that great sulfur smell. Once again some very ...

... serves to decrease the surface viscosity of the water and hence triggers an eruption. We viewed this event, within the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, together with hundreds of other tourists who all turned up with their cameras poised ready to get a ...

... the guides and our gift- not printable but it gave everyone a good laugh! The next day we went to see a geyser and Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland.  The geyser had to be set off manually by some guy dropping soap or something into it so it was all ...

On our way out of town this morning we updated our itinerary and added Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Wai-O-Tapu means Sacred Waters. The area is part of a Scenic Reserve run by the Department of Conservation and has the largest area of surface thermal ...

... hot springs, gushing geysirs and evil eggy smells hovering around. That's why we spent a whole day in the Wai-o-Tapu thermal wonderland. Rotorua also has a large Maori population, and at night we visited one of their shows. Even though it was really ...

... hot springs and exploding mud pools as well as a very big Maori influenced history. Spent a lovely morning at the nearby Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, weather was fantastic for a nice change and the area packs in loads of sights with loads of fantastic ...