O My God - I love this place! On arrival to Rotorua there is one thing very noticeable...It Stinks! It is set on one of the worlds most active geothermal areas and hence sulpur is everywhere. However, once you get used to the smell the place is great. The hostel i am in, Hot Rocks, is really nice - well located being right next to a beautiful thermal park and has 3 heated mineral pools and one swimming pool too! Day one was spent with a local Maori family where we had to make our own plates by weaving flax before we could eat!!! It was soo much fun to do and i am very proud of my bowl/plate thingy! The dinner was really nice - it was a traditional Hangi meal. The following day proved to be one of the best days of my life starting with a nice walk amongst the thermals early in the morning, followed by a visit to a Maori village set amongst the major thermal area where we witnessed a cultural show and Hakka (possibly the sexiest thing i've seen in a while!). Then Jasper, Hayley and myself went Luging which is seriously addictive (go down mountain on a baking tray with little steering at about 100kph! for those of you wondering what Luging is). Then to soothe away our aches and pains we headed to the Polynesian Spa where they have 4 hot (43 deg celcuis!) mineral pools overlooking the mountains. That was really a sensational treat. We then al hit Lava Bar and danced the night away. i really like it here and will stay here a while - probably till sunday! then make my way to Taupo. Take care xx