Thermal Taupo, eggtastic Rotorua and a mediocre birthday...

So at last we had made it to the centre of the North Island and it's geothermal and scientifically important centre. First up was Taupo, sat on a huge lake of the same name, the remnants of the worlds biggest volcanic eruption of the past 5,000 years. Unfortunately our luck with the weather well and truly broke here; it was awful, like a wet weekend in Runcorn. You see you can be in the most faraway, exotically sounding place in the world but unless the sun is shining and the thermometer is up, the people look miserable and everything is tinted in that off shade of grey you see most days in places like Leeds. Even so, Taupo, much like Rotorua to the north, is jam-packed full of geothermal activity and we intended to make the most of it. First up was the Craters of the Moon, a unique place that stretched for a mile or so with piping hot steam filtering out of the ground and violently boiling mud dotted around the area. It really was like being on a different planet, just one that smelt like an egg factory. Due to the incessant rain we skipped most of Taupo but did stumble upon a wicked little cafe where the owner had spent years turning the large outside space into a kind of Gaudi-esque tiled, mosaic living room. We took pictures so you can see them above.

So on we went. After a wet night in Rotorua where the van decided to leak over our heads we headed over to waka-tipu, a giant thermal wonderland complete with the famous Lady Knox geyser which, after being told by a stern official is pronounced Gii-ser rather than the often used gee-ser. It explodes everyday at 10.15, not of its own accord but by a guy pouring soap crystals down its spout! The place was staggering though, I could not do it justice by explaining other than letting you look at the photos above.

The next day we decided to get acquainted with traditional Maori culture so visited a place called by a much much longer name but shortened thankfully to waka. This village is still populated by several Maori families and lies completely on the geothermal faultline that produces so much activity. All around the village was boiling hot pools, steam and at the head of the village, two huge geysers. We started the morning by witnessing a traditional Maori dance that involved the famous Haka. I guess most people have heard of this war dance as NZ's all blacks perform it before every game, whether Maori or not. But when witnessed up close and in a traditional Maori setting it made the hairs on your neck stand up on edge. They even had an audience participation part where they looked around for a volunteer (please don't pick us, please don't pick us) and opted for Bill from Ohio to perform the Maori greeting of pressing noses together. Our guide that day was brilliant, he showed us everything from the way the village is run through a network of chiefs and tribal councils to how the village all use the geothermal pit in the middle of the village to do all of their cooking (a whole chicken steamed to perfection in ten minutes!).

So there we go, another famous part of the world ticked off and memories secure! The next day was my birthday which promised so much but unfortunately delivered so little, unless you count a lot of toilet stops. Essentially my attempt at making eggs benedict in the camper wasn't the greatest idea, nor was it a good idea to do a 9km run up mostly steep hills the day before, silly boy! Whichever it was that made me feel bad I spent most of my day on a library toilet. We then drove north to Mount Mangunui where, brilliantly, we spent the night drinking champagne in a holiday park full of empty caravans. Not exactly the birthday dreams are made of but memorable nonetheless... Anyway, just over a week now until we move on to Fiji. I think it is safe to say we are definitely starting to get excited about beaches again! Hope everyone is well and you have all put the finishing touches to your 'what we are going to do when shell and Tom return' itineraries. Much love xx