Next stop Rotorua. With the clouds coming in Anne's thoughts of a second skydive over the lake were abandoned and we pushed on into town.

Upon arriving in Rotorua we were hit with a wave of eggy stench. My first reaction was to blame Anne, but it turns the smell is of sulphur emitted from the earth (you best ask Anne for a better explanation if you need it - she's the geographer after all).

After a very brief walk around town we headed out for some Zorbing action.

After stripping down to shorts and socks we both clambered into the giant inflatable ball by launching ourselves through a birthing sized hole. Water was added to make it extra slippery and we launched ourselves down the hill in our giant hamster ball. We hooted the whole way down, picking up a few new bruises as we tumbled around the ball in an uncontrollable manner.

After a quick stop off to watch a puny sized swing compared to Queenstown (well that was Anne's excuse for not doing it..), we went to the source of the smell - Hells Gate hot pools. After a walk around bubbling mud pools and hot pools where the Maori shamans practiced their voodoo and warriors washed away their sins after battle we decided to take a dip ourselves lathering ourselves in the medicinal, albeit very smelly mud.

Having washed off we headed up the gondola just out of town for a rematch on the Luge!! This one was faster and longer than the previous in the South Island with an extra speedy advanced option. I awarded myself the Cup by default after I decided to disqualify Anne for maliciously ramming me off the track as it bottlenecked, much to the amusement of the onlookers passing overhead on the chairlift. Having patched up my cut arm after another accident of my own making we headed for a slap up meal at Maccie D's.

That night we left stinksville and headed to Taupo to a B&B where we were greeted with tea and mince pies before heading to a comfy bed.