Just when we thought...

there was nothing new to see, we did!

This morning we went on a morning tour of Rotorura. We started at the Te Puia (the spring) Thermal Reserve. It is a very special place for the Maoris. We entered through a circular entrance surrounded by carved statues with spires angled up to the sky. Our guide pointed out a few of the gods that are depicted by the statues. We followed the path to the boiling mudpools. It was gray colored mud that was actually bubbling. She told us that the Maoris use this mud to ease pain. There were products made from this in the gift shop. (Yes, there is always a gift shop.)

We continued along to the area where there were geysers but couldn't see any since the mist covered the area. The cold morning air was causing this. Then Candy, our guide, showed us the best part. The hot seats. And they were just that. It was a terraced area where you could sit and the rocks were warmed by the thermal activity. It felt amazing but if you sat too long it got really hot. We put our hands near one crack and almost burnt our fingers. We really did want to bring one home. Hard to explain that one to customs.

We went to the Agrodome next where we saw another sheep show. This one had about 14 different kinds of sheep found in New Zealand. They even had a Lincoln sheep named Abe. They brought out the border collie again and even a few little lambs. Very entertaining. The dog never barked once.

Our last stop was Rainbow Springs Nature Park where the guide took us through the different areas to show us some of the animals found there. They had a lot of rainbow trout that were introduced by Americans. The best part was seeing a kiwi. They are really more like mammals since they are flightless birds. Some predators have been introduced into NZ so they are endangered. They were much bigger than we expected them to be.

We got off the bus in Rotorura town center and walked around to see some of the shops. Then we had lunch at the Fat Dog Cafe. I must say it was one of our less expensive lunches. We have found it to be very expensive in Australia and New Zealand.

Tomorrow we leave here to go to the glowworm caves and then on to Auckland for our last night in New Zealand. Almost to the third leg of this adventure.!