A Visit to Wai-O-Tapu

I had heard that once you step foot into Rotorua, you will start smelling the rotten egg smell.  I didn’t find this to be the case at all, but it could be because it was relatively chilly when I visited.

I had a free day in Rotorua and decided to head to Wai-O-Tapu to see the famous Lady Knox Geyser and Champagne Lake.

Lady Knox Geyser is forced to erupt at 10:15am every morning.  Employees aid this eruption along by adding a surfactant into the opening, and depending on the weather conditions, Lady Knox Geyser will decide how much of an eruption will happen.  We were quite fortunate that day and got to see a significant eruption.

Wai-O-Tapu is a significant size, and will take about 2 hours to walk around the whole thing.  They break it off into 3 different sections, so if you are pressed for time, you can always just do the sections that you want to see.  The first section takes you through some amazing sights and ends at the most famous sight of all – the Champagne Lake.

I continued on all the way to Section 3 where Lake Ngakoro is located.  This part of the walk was a little steeper than the rest of the area.

We finally found the Devil’s Bath right before we left.  The bright green colour is a result of a toxic mix of sulphur and ferrous salts and other minerals. Photos do not do it justice as the colour of the water is insane.