Upon leaving Napier we headed straight for Lake Taupo and Rotorua. We didn't see much of Taupo, but we did stay the night there in one of the motorcamps that has hot pools. Hot pools are pretty prevalent in the thermally charged region around Rotorua. We took every advantage to soak in hot pools even when they were awfully stinky! On the way from Taupo to Rotorua we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, where there are no hot pools for soaking, but stunning vistas of geothermal activity.
We took our walk through the steaming vents and bubbling pools in a bit of a rain storm.
We enjoyed the amazing colors of the minerals even as we wrinkled our noses at the odors.
The colors were the most amazing part.
From the iron colored Champagne Pool,
to the ice blue of the Oyster Pool,
to the most amazing chartreuse of the Devil's Bath.
Ryan was almost lost in the steam of the Champange Pool.
I could've watched the mud boiling and popping for hours, but we got back on the road and headed for Rotorua, the most visited region of New Zealand.