We didn't wake up until 10:15am and we didn't want to get out of bed. I made the first move and went to get a shower whilst Andrew remained in bed feeling very sorry for himself. Once we were both ready we drove to a supermarket called Pak 'N' Save which claimed to sell the cheapest food in New Zealand. We had so far found it strange to not have to pack our own shopping in New Zealand but at 'Pak'n Save' we had to pack to save money! We then drove to the 'Aratiatia Rapids' in time for the hydroelectric dam floodgates to open at 12pm. We just made it in time to see the still turquoise pool turn into gushing white water. However, we realised that there was a better viewpoint so we quickly walked through the bush land, but just as we did so the siren sounded so we were expecting the dam floodgates to start closing. However, we made the five minute walk to gain a better view and we were surprised at the extent to which the rapids continued down the river. We made the short return journey to our campervan and then drove to a picnic spot where we cooked some soup. We then drove to the 'Huka Falls' lookout point to take a quick photograph and again the water was bright turquoise in colour. Our next stop was 'Craters of the Moon' which was a highly active thermal area. It was a bargain at $6 each and it was a nice hour long walk. We were fairly amazed at the billowing steam that was rising from beneath the surface of the earth. There was one huge crater and a large mud pool but the whole area was pocketed with many steam vents that made it all look very strange. We chose to take a steep path which led to a lookout where we could see Lake Taupo in the distance as well as the mountains beyond. We returned to our campervan and began the journey to Otorohanga. 
 
I was chief map reader once again but somehow we managed to end up on the wrong road . It wasn't the end of the world though as it also led to Otorohanga but the road led through back country dairy farm land so the road was far from straight. We crossed a huge dam and followed a very wide river for a short while whilst the surrounding landscape was mostly green. We made it to Otorohanga and found a 'Kiwi Holiday Park' where we got a powered site. We made a quick phone call to book on to the 'Black Abyss' trip the following day before driving to a supermarket. We made sausages, mashed potato and gravy and sat watching the TV in the kitchen area with the electric cooker rings switched on to warm us up! We were pretty tired so we called it a night at around 10pm and went off to bed.