Tuesday 3rd August - Taupo
Woke up to our coldest morning yet anywhere - it was -4C according to the weatherman and our motel felt like it inside! Drove to Tongariro National Park for our mid-morning flight . When we got there, there was only one pilot available for flights so we had to wait an extra hour. We didn't mind as he left us to mind the place and have tea and coffee whilst he flew off in the plane. There were only us 2 on the plance and the day was clear with blue skies in abundance. The views were amazing - all of the 3 volcanoes (Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro) were covered in snow and looked all the more dramatic for it. We saw ski-fields and all those poor sods trekking 8 hours for the same views we saw (and better) in the plane. When we had lunch beside the lake we decided to feed the ducks some of our leftover stale bread - however the vicious looking black swans with red heads meant we left early. We saw som 'AC Baths' advertised in a brochure an headed there for the afternoon - it was described as a 'must-see if you're in Taupo' but we know it was a glorified swimming pool. Saying that it was nice to lie in hot water with blue skies overhead to bring back that summer feeling. The waterslides were good fun too though the 'private pool' was way too bloody hot for us at 38C!

Wednesday 4th August - Taupo - Rotorua - 90Ks
Another chilly night in our motel room - so glad we didn't hire a campervan! The signposts around here are not that great sometimes - rather than point you the correct way, you have to be going the correct way to see the signpost for the place you're headed! Crazy but true sometimes! On our way we turned off into the 'Wai-O-Tapu Thermal wonderland' - an area of mud pools, craters and geysers . We were on time to see the daily 10.15am erruption of the nearby 'Lady Knox' geyser. The colours in the pools and craters can vary from red to purple and yellow to green depending on the minerals located in the soil. We drove to Rotorua to have our lunch in Burger King and spent a long time looking for some accomodation - mostly beacause we were being fussy after last night's 'cold room'. Booked ourselves a white-water rafting experience and some mud/spa treatments to amuse ourselves for a couple of days. Rotorua truly is stinky city - the smell of rotten eggs is everywhere!

Thursday 5th August - Rotorua
Got a call first thing from Steve of the raft company to say the river we planned to raft had been shut due to the amount of overnight rain - so we switched back to our original choice which took longer but we didn't mind. On the bus were 2 French people (Greg and Lydye) and 3 more from the UK. We were pretty excited and maybe a little nervous, especially when we were told what to do when the raft overturns! The wetsuits fitted (surprisingly!) well enough (and made us understand the plight of Victorian women a little better!) and the biggest trouble we had was finding a helmet large enough for Derek's noggin! And then we were in the water - there wasn't too much time to think before we hit the first rapids and managed to paddle enough to stay afloat . We were loving every minute of it (despite what the photos might say!). The river was flowing faster than normal and it took us only an hour and 15 minutes to do the whole 14k stretch - 20 minutes faster than normal apparently. It was all over far too quickly but we'll definitely do it again! There were only 4 of us plus Steve our guide in the boat and we bought the CD of photos for the memories. After all that when we got back there was nothing else for it but to go for a dip in the jacuzzi mineral pool next to us - and very relaxing it was too!

Friday 6th August - Rotorua
Our day of relaxation at 'Hells Gate' resort started with a walk around the surrounding land with it's familiar mix of bubbling mud pools, steaming waters and rotten egg smells - still liked it though. Our first stop in the spa was our own private mud pool - so time to get naked - though we were limited to 20 minutes in there otherwise we'd be poisoned (or something like that). Then it was time to soak in the 2 mineral pools - one was hot and the other was hot, hot, hot so we generally stuck with the hot one . A cool shower and it was time for our full body massages - Maori style - and very nice it was too, taking one full hour. We finished up with some healthy 'Manuka' tea with honey which'll do wonders for our immune systems we hope. By the time we got back for a late lunch the day was nearly over. We went for a drive to see why Rotorua was voted 'most beautiful city in New Zealand' - we didn't find out why though we did have a good stroll around the edges of the local lake.

Saturday 7th August - Rotorua
Yesterday we called into 'NZone' - the tandem skydive centre in Rotorua to enquire about a jump for Sue (yes - she really fancied it!). No jumps were running yesterday due to the weather conditions (low cloud and showers) but suggested we phone this morning for today's availability. To our surprise they said they were jumping so Sue booked herself in for 1pm. However at 12 noon the heavens opened and when we phoned back at 12.30pm they confirmed the jump had been cancelled. Booked in for 10am tomorrow although weather conditions don't look any better than today so unlikely it will go ahead. Headed into Rotorua town centre for lunch and found a nice cafe for fish of the day - thai style and lamb kebabs - tandoori style both served with rice and salad - delicious! Next stop the internet cafe where it was full of kids being very rude to the owner and using the computers with no intention of paying for it. Derek watched the All Blacks play the Wallabies again on TV - quite a good match by all accounts with tension right up to the last seconds