Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland, NZ

The first thing I heard about the town of Rotoroa was that it’s got a weird smell hanging over the entire town. This intriguing fact was due to the amount of thermal geoactivities that surrounds the town, the various geysers, thermal volcanoes and the likes that gives off an extra serving of sulfur in the air we breath.

I’m glad to share my own experiences that the sulfuric smell was much overrated, especially around town. Fact is, Rotoroa is a great place to base yourself on your exploration of New Zealand’s Northern Island. They are within driving distances of the various thermal wonderlands, and the town itself is located by Lake Rotoroa, a great base to embark on boat/cycling journeys and the likes.

One of the thermal wonderlands we had the chance to experience was the Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland. Come early in the morning, around 10 am, so you can view the Lady Knox geysers jetting her streams up high (only once a day). Wai-o-tapu is Maori for Sacred Waters, which stands for how the Maori warriors of old would bathe in these Sacred Waters for their mystical healing prowess.