New Zealand 2013, Wandering Waimangu Thermal Park

Waimangu Thermal Park was our afternoon stop after Zorbing and riding the gondola before heading onto Taupo. Unfortunately we only gave ourselves a few hours at the park which made the last section a bit rushed as we had to get to the final bus stop by 4:30pm.

Interestingly Waimangu is the only hydrothermal system in the world where the start of surface activity can be pinned down to an exact date – 10 June 1886. On that day there was a violent volcanic eruption which resulted in the craters and activity on the surface we could see today.

Some things I learnt during our time at Waimangu Thermal Park:

• It gets really hot towards the bottom of the park near the thermal activity
• Not everywhere in Rotorua smells like rotten eggs!

Summary

• What we did: Several hours spent running around Waimangu Thermal Park before heading onto Taupo
• Favourite part: The incredible views everywhere in the park
• Best Experience: Wandering around by ourselves (there wasn’t many other people around), feeling the heat from all of the thermal activity
• Worst Experience: Running to try to catch the final bus
• Must See Attraction: The beautiful views at the start of the thermal park
• Next stop: Taupo!