Our first destination in Rotorua this morning was Te Puia, a Maori culture and geothermal centre. This is the site of the famous Pohutu geyser and several mud pools. We joined an 11am free guided tour, run by a Maori woman called Aunty Carol, who was a fantastic guide, and we saw the geyser erupt as well as toured the Arts and Cultural centre and several other features of the centre.

We even saw a forest gecko and a green gecko, and two kiwi birds in a nocturnal habitat. Most surprising was the fact that the sulphur smell was not overpowering, and once we stepped away from the geothermal pools, the smell dissipated quickly.

We were there for a few hours, so rather than going home for lunch, we grabbed two loaves of bread and some hot chips at a little takeaway near Kuirau Park, a geothermal park near the city centre. While this park is lovely (and free!), we were pleased we had spent the money to go to Te Puia for the information we gained from Aunty Carol.

On another note, it takes $20.30 to feed 13 people hot chip sandwiches! 😳

From there we went straight to Skyline Rotorua, as the boys were desperate to luge ride! We arrived after 2.30pm and were concerned they would not be able to fit in their three rides before closing time, but the line was only long for the first ride. I say they, because Beck, Jess and I went for hot chocolate in the cafe while everyone else luged.

As the sun set, we took a gondola back down the hill and went to Eat Street for dinner, as it came highly recommended. Around the corner we had dinner at Lone Star – Ross and Luke were still craving steak, but couldn’t bring themselves to pay the price! so settled for bbq ribs instead. This was the restaurant of choice as they had a tv and offered to play the Sharks v Broncos game for the boys.

Home for a game of Five Crowns (and washing for me!). We move south tomorrow…