Day 4 - Of Mud and Stench...

Upon our arrival in Rotorua yesterday, we wondered what was causing the foul smell... of course, I immediately suspected Tobi, but he assured me (believably) that it wasn't him. Only this morning, when we left our hostel again, did we realize that it might be the smell of sulfur emanating from the hot springs.

So, the hot springs, the biggest tourist attraction in this area, are also the reason for the pretty nasty smell... throughout most of Rotorua. But at least the lake there is beautiful to look at...

And as if we didn't have enough of the sulfur smell, we obviously wanted to surround ourselves with it for the entire first half of the day (I still suspect Tobi as the culprit...).

So, we made our way to Wai-O-Tapu, a 'thermal wonderland' that offers, on one hand, a geyser (Lady Knox) and, on the other hand, a walk through a variety of holes, puddles, and lakes (some more and some less thermally active).

The different color spectacles of nature impressed me the most: from red to yellow and green, to turquoise, everything was there. Even gray was represented... in the form of a steaming and bubbling mud hole.

A few facts about the acidic water: The color is created by different minerals that refract sunlight. The pH value is 2 (as I said, it is pretty acidic and I did not mean the state of mind you can reach when you have to smell it half the day) and it is about 14 degrees Celsius.

After the tour of the thermal area of Wai-O-Tapu, we had enough of the sulfur smell for now and went for a little trip to Taupo. On one hand, to get something to eat (something warm again after days) and on the other hand, to admire the destination of the next day from a distance.

Because one of the highlights of today was also the confirmation of the booking for the following day...