Lake Taupo and Craters of the Moon

After morning tea we hit the road. We stopped at the picnic spot on Lake Taupo that the Morrisons took us to on our last visit and even saw some black swans - just like last time. Unfortunately there was a bit of cloud about by now so we did not have a great view of Mr Ruapehu but it was still beautiful.

We had 230km to do today and so got some of that done before lunch. We stopped for lunch in Taupo (which is at the top of the lake) and then stopped in at Craters of the Moon which was not far from there on our way up to Rotorua.
Massive craters.

The Morrisons had taken us to some "bubbling mud" on the South side of Lake Taupo on our last visit and they said we must come to Craters of the Moon as it was much bigger.

We did not expect to have to walk for an hour but we had the stroller with so the younger two took turns. It was incredible to see steam coming up from the ground all around us.
Thankfully the clouds stayed over the mountains and it was another beautifully clear day.
Just as Brendon took this photo the wind blew the steam off to the side. We were amazed at how much there was.

As we walked around we kept saying "Wow".

Rachel kept asking how the plants managed to survive with so much heat and all the minerals. Obviously that question gets asked a lot so there was a board with all the plant info on it.

Close to the exit there is a higher area (a bit more tricky to walk with a stroller) and the steam that was gushing out of here was incredible to watch (and listen too - the sound did not come out that well).