Pictures from the Rotorua area - we visited three different thermal areas.

First, Waiotapu. We got here at about 9am because the Lady Knox geyser erupts at 1015am every day. As photo 3 shows this is because some geyser puts soap down the vent at this time to "encourage" the geyser to erupt bang on time. The first two photos were of the mud pools that were outside the reserve and free to view. We saw these first and they were definitely the best thermal features of the lot! There were another 7 or 8 photos similar to the 2nd one - but only this one had the timing about right.

The other main attraction at Waiotapu is the Champagne Pool - this is the 53C pool steaming away in the first 3 photos below. The fourth photo is of some stinking sulphur crystals (!), whilst the last photo is of an arsenic filled pool - hence the attractive green colour!

The second place we visited (top suggest Bryan!) was Orakei Korako. This was in the middle of nowhere and the thermal area was actually a short ferry ride across a reservoir. The cave photo was taken from within Ruatapu Cave which was in this reserve.

Finally, Craters of the moon. It looks like heathland on fire - apart from the smoke being steam, it was!