Oi, Stinky !!!

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Up at the crack of dawn again due to the paper thin walls at the back packers lodge and builing up courage to head into the communal showers !! We head on from Lake Taupo on our way to Rotorua. Our first stop is Hukka Falls, just out of town. Quite pretty but as it's raining we don't stay long get back into the car and onwards and upwards.
A brown sign states "Craters Of The Moon" which sounds intriguing so we head on up. This is the first bit of geothermal activity we have seen in this area. Again, quite impressive but no gushing geysers, just lots of holes in the ground with smoke coming out of it. Again, the rain starts so we quickly walk round and get back in the car and make our way to Rotorua.
Kathy and Allen had given us a tip - a place called Orakei Korako - between Taupo and Rotorua, which is classed as one of the best thermal areas in NZ and has been untouched for thousnads of years.
A short boat trip accross the lake brings you to the 'Hidden Valley' and you are immediately faces with what looks like a 'sulpher waterfall'. This has been forged over thousnads of years and is a multi coloured affair formed by the earth spitting up its guts. The area is filled with loads of sulpher flats and more impressive silica terraces and even a little gushing is seen !!!
There is also an impressive cave that you can walk into and at the bottom a warm pool of which is filled with clear, blue warm water. It states that if you put your left hand in and make a wish, it's certain to come true (I try this ..... hasn't happened yet !!!) and that it's very good at clenaing your jewelry!! Claire can confirm that this does work.
All in all a place well worth visiting.
Back in the car and off to Rotorua. The rain is getting heavier and heavier and as we reach Rotorua it's not the pounding rain that is getting our attention but the smell of rotten eggs. This is the sulpher from all the thermal activity in the area and it STINKS.
We drive through the town and decide that it's not really worth doing much more sight seeing today as it's peeing down so we look for somewhere to stay and fing a cool little motel just on the outskirts of town.
Check in, drop off our bags and then we decide to head to the 'world famous' Poynesian Spa for a bit of thermal therapy. This was one of our best ideas. Even in the rain it is amazing relaxing and probably all the better for it.
There are 6 outdoor thermal pools of varying temperature, from body temperature to 45 degrees, each made up of the areas geothermal acidic and alkaline hot mineral water.
We make our way into the first pool and ...... Ohhhhhhhhhhh ...... heaven. It stinks and is a dodgy green colour with bits floating in it but oh so relaxing and just what the doctor ordered.
With the cool wing and light rain hitting your face and your body surrounded by the warm water it's heaven.
We try out the other pools and have to force ourselves to leave abaout an hour later.
Feeling all floppy and releaxed we head back into town and by now I'm ready to eat my own fist, so decide on a restaurant called Herbs. Looking soggy and stinking like rotten eggs we are treated to one our best meals yet.
Stuffed, tired and still stinking we head off back to the motel .... Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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Photos

pic 1
Hukka falls

pic 2
'Craters of the moon' geotghermal activity

pic 3
Artists Pallette - geothermal wonder of the world

pic 4
Magical Cave

Pic 5
Claire and Woody with sulpher waterfall backdrop!