We woke up to our 8am alarm and got a shower before heading over to the kitchen area to make a cheese omelette for our breakfast. We then drove to 'The Buried Village' which was a little way out of Rotorua. We passed along the way a 'Blue Lake' and 'Green Lake' but we couldn't really tell that each lake was a different colour which we presumed was why they had been given such a name. Anyway, we paid for our ticket and entered the 'Museum of Te Wairoa' which displayed background information on the Mount Tarawera eruption as well as a large collection of objects excavated from the site. The eruption of Mount Tarawera in the early hours of June 10, 1886 was New Zealand’s greatest natural disaster. There was a sequence of earthquakes followed by spewing rock, ash and mud which killed more than 150 people, engulfed several settlements and destroyed the marble-like terraces at Lake Rotomahana, which were internationally regarded as "the eighth wonder of the world". 
 
We came to the end of 'The Buried Village' and opted to do a short bush walk that led to the impressive 'Wairere Falls' which plunged thirty metres deep into the valley . It was then a steep climb uphill to the car park where we got into our campervan and began driving towards Taupo. We reached our next stop, 'Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland' and paid the entrance fee before beginning the walking tour. We were given a map and guide which was very informative as it explained the many different thermally-active features present. The whole place was pretty smelly as a result of the sulfur hydroxide gas being released into the air. There was a wooden boardwalk that led over a huge expanse of water suitably named the 'Champagne Pool' as it was bubbling away. There were strange mounds of yellow sulfurous rock and an illuminous green pool that looked completely unnatural. The vegetation had bright orange algae growing on it as a result of the particular gases in the air. As we walked past the 'Champagne Pool' on the way out we literally couldn't see anything as the steam obstructed our vision. We got in our campervan and drove to a mud pool that we passed on the way. It was such a weird sight as every so often a huge spurt of mud was flung into the air . 
 
We began driving once again towards Taupo and as soon as we arrived we went to 'Pak'n Save' to buy some food. We then sat in our campervan to eat a cheese sandwich before continuing our journey. We reached Taihape and had a quick toilet stop and tea break. On the way to Wellington Andrew almost knocked an eagle out of the sky which would have caused another tear in my eye. We arrived at Porirua, which was just outside of Wellington, and we luckily got the last powered site. We parked our campervan and then began to make something to eat on our single gas stove as there wasn't a shared kitchen area. I had a hot shower as I knew I wouldn't be able to get up at 5:30am the following morning. We ate and then went to bed ready for the early start the following day.