Day 6 Wai O Tapu Thermal Wonderland

We started the day really late today as Theo was busy at work so I brought the children out to the beach to have some fun in the sand and sea.

We ended up missing the Maori village part of our trip and went direct for the Wai O Tapu Thermal Wonderland to see the impact of geothermal influences on the land. Likewise we missed the daily geyser show so we ended up only doing a two hours hike around the park to observe the natural phenomenon which was pretty much lost to most of us. The most interesting part of the park is seeing the Champagne Lake and its incessant smoke and also the silicate river where we can see how the rocks have cooled/solidified layer over layer to form very interesting features.

One of the souvenirs that you can buy from here is their volcanic mud lotion which is supposedly good for the skin.

It was an extremely hot day so after the park, we headed back to Tauranga to check out where Theo’s parents would be taking their bus to Auckland. I was surprised to see the town quite alive with people drinking and eating along the wharf so we decided to join in and had dinner at a pub eating their daily special, chicken wings for $1 a piece! The children had a fun time at the playground playing with the local children while waiting for dinner. I guess Friday nights and weekends are the best time to see the kiwis at play.