It would have to smell this bad to look that good (posting from the road)

I am touring through a dangerous land. At least that's what all the signs keep telling me. We are in Taupo/Rotorua area,one of the most geothermically active in the world. No problem getting a hot shower - most of the houses have dangerously hot water being pumped into them; you could easily make a cup of tea from the tap water alone. We spent the night next to a lake, when I went for a walk in the morning I noticed the lake was steaming, not quite boiling but considering its's early spring here and the ambient temperature is 5C...the water in unnaturally warm.

One of the first areas that we visited was the craters of the moon. I am not sure what the moon looks like, but I would imagine not too far off from this. The ground is warm to the touch and there are vents with steam pouring out all around us.I feel like Neil Armstrong here.

I have a little burn to the edge of my finger but I deserve it. We were tramping (NZ word for hiking) through one of the many thermal parks in the area and there was a puddle of water right there next to the trail just begging to be touched - yes it was boiling water and yes that was obvious to the naked eye and yes as such it was hot. I never thought I would be able to say that I was burned by a puddle.

The colours of the water and the rocks in the area were awesome - I used to joke that you shouldn't eat anything that is not normally a colour in nature, irrelevant now - some of the colours I saw make a Cheezie look dull. Around here mud is actually boiling. It's a truly bizarre sight to see a pool of mud eruptuting in the air, splattering and scalding anyone standing nearby. My favourite attraction so far is this insanely cool pool of water referred to as the champagne pool - bubbles make there way to the surface from down below, much like a glass of the good stuff. The rim of the pool is surrounded by a bright orange mineral deposit, almost as though the champagne glass was dipped in some sort of sugar. The trade off to this visually spectacular area - the stench of rotten eggs fills the air - sulfur is one of the contributing materials to the outrageous colour palate.

Dinner tonight was a traditional affair, a hangi, where the Maori people cook all the food underground. We, along with a busfull of foreigners attended this touristy dinner. It's sort of campy but is one of the must do's of Rotorua. The group is met by member of the Maori tribe, we participate in a welcome cermonony, learn a little about the culture and then stuff ourfaces full of yummy food. There was even the option to purchase genuine NZ souveniers - shocking. It sounds a little silly but Jeanette and I can now do a Poi Dance and Barry learnt how to do the Haka.

Side note on the food. The portions here are giagantic - American Biggie sized. It seems to be mandatory that every breakfast comes with bacon. Even if you think that you're safe because you ordred french toast...no - they have hidden bacon between the layers of toast or pancakes or under eggs, clever little buggers they are. Interestingly enough, I have not seen one pig in the vicinity...pardon the pun but its food for thought as I drift off to sleep trying very hard not to inhale and choke on the scent of sulphur...