It was the school holidays, and the likelihood of another Covid Lockdown seemed to be receding, so we took a short break to Rotorua.
We stayed at Braeside, mostly as the unit we like have a spa pool on a deck overlooking a crystal clear stream.
Best Western Braeside Rotorua, spa-pool on deck overlooks stream
We took a quick trip into town for a Sunday stroll, and found ourselves at the Te Papaiouru Marae.
The following day we drove about 20km South to Waimangu Volcanic Valley, a rift that opened during the Tararewa Eruption in the 1880s.
The rift created the worlds largest hot spring, Frying Pan Lake. The surface temperate is about 55C, and it has a pH of 3.5.
From Frying Pan Lake a hot water stream flowed down.
We climbed past a little geyser…
…up to Inferno Crater Lake.
From there we took the harder route, up Mt Haszard.
Eventually the track rejoined the main path to the lake.
From here a bus took us back up the hill, save us at the 4km hike back up.
The next day the forecast wasn’t that great, so we took a morning walk through the redwood forest.
Redwood Forest, Rotorua