So, if you’re in Rotorua, New Zealand, you have to remember not to miss out on the geothermal park at Wai-O-Tapu! The other two features of this volcanic area, sure. But this one, no! Because the series of small lakes with radiant colors of orange, green, yellow, pink and so on, are nothing short of sublime! The surrounding woods also add to the beauty. The only drawback this day, was the fog, which made it a little less spectacular 🙁 There are three differently sized walks that will take you through the area safe and sound. The red trail is 1.5 km, the orange trail is 0.5 km, and the yellow trail is 1 km. It is not possible to choose one of the three. The orange walk and the yellow walk are extensions of the red and the red/orange combo respectively. When you’re done, there is a visitor centre with a souvenir shop, a cafe, and a picnic spot.
On the 30 km or so drive to the park, we stopped at Lady Knox Geyser, which was a huge disappointment! A man-made geyser – that is far from impressive, when you’ve experienced Iceland’s magnificent Geysir. In other words, go to Iceland instead! The third feature of Wai-O-Tapu is the Mud Pool, which in my opinion is just ok – nothing more, nothing less. If you’re not part of a tour, leave these out.
My hostel booked the day trip to Wai-O-Tapu with a company called Headfirst Travel, which worked fine. At the geothermal park, we could stay more or less as long as we wanted, as we had a few different return times to choose from.
Website: waiotapu.co.nz
How awesome is this place!!! Sad that it wasn’t what you expected.
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Loved the colorful lakes! The other two I wouldn’t have been too sad about missing out on…
It is such a gorgeous place (if you can get over the smell, ha!) – and so incredibly relaxing!
It’s a super nice place! Didn’t think too much about the smell… In Rotorua, yes, but out here, not so much. Very nice and quiet. It was during NZ winter, so not many people around.