Empuku za Rotorua/Waitomo

To explore the North Island, you have to occasionally zigzag. So we drove 275 km (4h) first up to the coast and then west to Rotorua. Rotorua is known for its 'bubbling pools' and smoking craters. Everywhere you can smell sulfur, which can sometimes be pleasant when it smells like fireworks, but most of the time it smells like rotten eggs. Nevertheless, an exciting place with all its geothermal and volcanic activities. In the middle of the city, there is a beautiful path through the park with many fenced-in mud pools and 'boiling' lakes.

The next morning, we took the gondola up to the local mountain and had three rides with the luges. After the fun for young and old, we visited the Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Then we said goodbye for now to this special geothermal world.

We skipped the glowworm caves last time, so they were at the top of the list this time. After much back and forth, we decided against a black water rafting tour and for the dry walkable version. Well, at 11 degrees cold water, in which you spend 3 hours, we were glad to be dry. Getting up early in the morning (for our standards). We stood at the counter at 7:50 and were able to book ourselves for the 8:00 am tour. Excellent - no one was there except us and the guide. Both caves had a small well-lit path through them with stalactites, stalagmites, and glowworms. For the first time, we saw from just 10cm away how the glowworms drop their sticky 'traps'. And as the highlight at the end of the tour, we sailed under a glowworm Milky Way with a boat.