We left Whitianga fairly sharpish so we could have plenty of time to explore Rotorua and its many thermal wonders. After a little lunch we explored Kuirau Park. This is a free town park which has lots of smelly steam, mud pools and a large mineral rich thermal pool. This gave us a real taster (excuse the pun) for the area. It took us quite a bit longer to explore than we were expecting, and we were all feeling a little jaded so headed straight for the fantastic Polynesian Spa, also in Rotorua (voted in the top 10 world spas by readers of some posh magazine I'd never heard of but the others had). This was a really relaxing place with pools ranging from 38 to 42 degrees Celcius, all with views over Lake Rotorua (and its many seagulls). Apparently there's an encephalytus bug present in the pools which can wriggle up your nose and melt your brain, so we cunningly just held our noses when we went under! Not sure if this really works, but we seem fine, so I guess it worked.

After another fantastic drive with lots of lush green scenery we rocked up in Taupo. We didn't have many expectations for the place, so were pleasantly surprised to find it a modern, lively place. We were staying in the Oasis Resort, which was a little small, but very clean and pleasant. We thought we'd left the smelly Rotorua behind us, but a short stroll along the lake front revealed several steam vents, but it did mean that the lake water was nice and warm in the immediate vicinity. For dinner we had a good meal in town at the Riverside Restaurant and Cafe - I highly recommend the fish & chips - probably the best I've ever had!