Absolutely Incredible

It was the last day of our trip and, having already seen some geothermal areas and spent a fair bit, my husband and I weren't sure whether we should go to Orakei Korako. However, the photos and descriptions on their website convinced us to give it a try, and we are so glad we did!

We bought our tickets online to get the 10% discount then just had to the staff our reference number and email address. We had lunch at the café then caught the ferry across the lake. It's beautiful just to look at from the café and boat but gets even better once you land.

We were told the walk should take an hour to an hour and a half. It loops around the geothermal park and gives you a view of the different terraces, pools, geysers etc. There are quite a few steps but these shouldn't be a problem for most people. The views from the different lookouts are beautiful and the colours are absolutely incredible. By Ruatapu Cave is so tranquil: we could only hear birdlife. It's probably about the closest we've been to experiencing what New Zealand was like pre-human settlement.

We emerged from visiting the cave just in time to see (what we think was) Diamond Geyser erupting. We were quite far away and would have loved to see it up close, but it was impressive to see it's height from where we were standing. The geysers at Orakei Korako are quite unpredictable so we were glad to see it at all! A few of the others played a little for us too, and it was interesting to see the water cascade down the terrace towards the lake.

Orakei Korako is an absolutely amazing place and the highlight of our whole trip. We're so glad we made the decision to go, and would absolutely recommend to those in the Taupo or Rotorua area.