We are celebrating May as New Zealand month. Today we are kicking the festivities off with one of New Zealand’s more unique tourist attractions. It’s grey and bubbly and it sure does stink. These geo-thermal mud pools are found just outside of Rotorua which is in the centre of the North Island. The area is rich in volcanic activity and there are quite a few of these mud pools, hot springs and spectacular geysers. The boiling mud bubbles away and puts on a pretty interesting show with slops of mud shooting into the sky giving off a very smelly sulphur like smell. Believe it or not the mud is meant to have some pretty good properties for the skin, now don’t touch the mud in the open, as it is likely to be very hot, look out for mud packs and soaps in the tourist shops around Rotorua- you won’t miss it. There are quite a few tourist parks which feature the mud shows but we have found a free attraction within about half an hour’s drive of the Rotorua CBD. It’s a magnificent drive along the Thermal Explorer Highway to a small township called Waiotapa. There are some mud baths not far from the pub and service station, near Waikite Valley Road. Read more to see map.
