What a great photo day!!

We departed our hotel to visit a site of worldwide significance, the Waimangu Volcanic Valley. Waimangu means Black Water. This is an area of intense hydrothermal activity containing two of the largest and most spectacular hot springs in the world.

We walked through an area which contains a variety of unique thermal plants in many habitats ranging from acid to alkaline soils, hot swamps and warm bare ground. This is also where the famous Pink and White Terraces once stood before the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. We took a boat cruise around Lake Rotomahana, the final resting place of the Pink & White Terraces, where we saw several hot springs and geysers. Absolutely gorgeous scenery!

On our way back to Rotorua, we made a quick stop at Maori Arts and Crafts Institute to view Maori art and artisans working.

In the afternoon we walked among the redwood trees in the Memorial Red Woods Grove track.  Red woods are not endemic to New Zealand but were planted in 1901 to test the viability of different tree species as sources for lumber. These particular trees were never harvested.

Back in Rotorua, before dinner, the two of us walked to Kuirau Park that has many geothermal vents and communal baths and soaks. After dinner at Ambrosia on Eat Streat, we walked along the shores of Lake Rotorua back to our hotel.