Disappointed at the anticlimax after such a long journey, we headed southwards again. We stopped at a nature reserve on the way down, where we visited some remarkable sand dunes. Huge mountains of sand, you could climb to the top of the first one and feel like you're in the Sahara. Mark tried to slide down them on our body-board without much success, and so climbed to the top of the high ridge of sand instead. From there he could see the sea, so we walked to it along "Quick-sand creek", the other access way for cars to drive along the beach. The walk took loner than expected, but when we reached it, we could see all the way down the long beach. Still, it wasn't wonderfully impressive, so we walked back, pausing only to watch as the tour bus drove down the beach, through the shallow water.

Back at the car, we had a thirst-quenching drink and drove on. It was a long way to our next stop, and a large sea inlet lay in our way. We caught the vehicle ferry across it and drove on towards Dargaville down the coast. When we reached the large Kauri forest, we parked for a few minutes to visit NZ's largest Kauri tree. Fat and tall, it stuck out above much of the rain forest around it and apparently up to 2000 years old.

Having seen the largest of the Kauri trees we didn't need to see the rest really and we hurried on to the camping grounds on the other side of the forest. We put the tent up and had a very quick snack before going to bed.

Auckland was busy, so we didn’t stay long and we drove the 100km to Hamilton to make a longer stop there instead. We found the cinema and wandered around the shops until it was 16:00, the time "Double Jeopardy" was due to start. Despite the poor acting ability of the leading lady, the film itself was good and we were glad for the break in the air-conditioned cinema (away from the close heat outside).

From Hamilton , it was only a short (ish) drive to Rotorua which we reached in the pouring rain at just after eight in the evening. Horrified at the idea of trying to put our tent up in this appalling weather and tired by the long drive, we checked into a motel. For $65 we had a night of pure luxury: clean room, clean towel, real bed, clean sheets, clean bathroom, our own cooking facilities, and a TV with Sky and a remote control. After our home-cooked dinner of hamburgers, baked beans and hash browns, and "Substitute 2" on Sky we fell asleep. Fast asleep.

Rotorua is in the heart of the volcanically active area of the North Island and therefore much of our stay would be spent taking advantage of that. But with so many things to see, we had to figure out where to start. So after doing the washing, paying for the second night in the room, watching one of the morning’s films on Sky and hanging the washing up to dry, we headed for the information centre.

Even as we drove into town, the rain was still bucketing down and we were glad to be in the car. At the information centre, we raided the wall of brochures and leaflets, collecting any that looked remotely interesting. As we were in the town centre, it was a good opportunity to get some other things done. We used the internet to catch up on some correspondence and then took our films in for overnight processing. Next we had to decide what was for dinner and at the Pak ‘n Save we bought chicken, rice and chicken tonight sauce (Butter chicken we think it was called, very tasty). Back at our motel room we relaxed in front of a children’s film and Laura wrote some more diary while Mark cooked. We leafed through some of the brochures and decided where to go in the morning: Wahai-o-tomo, a volcanic park. After "The Newton Boys" (a very good film about some bank robbers in the 1920s) Laura went to bed while Mark watched the Australian Tennis Open update and then also went to sleep.

Driving back along the road we found the turning to the Waimangu volcanic valley. Here we paid $16 each to enter the park and received in return a small guide book. Here the main features of the park were numbered and a short explanation was given of each one. As we followed the path around the park, our pamphlet explained about the craters and when they were formed, giving us facts about the hot lakes and boiling pools. Perhaps the most impressive was "inferno crater lake" which was so clouded with steam it was difficult to see. When the steam blew the other way, the beautiful light blue colour of the water could be seen. The lake overflowed into a stream which was in turn lined by bubbling hot springs.

The entire area erupted into action in 1886 and since then only have all these hydro thermal features formed. We walked through the eerie park, where steam poured out of holes in the rock, yellow sulphur coated many of the rocks and pools and lakes bubbled and boiled We spent two hours

wandering around all of the fascinating sights, wholly in awe at how different the earth can be. Sadly though, two of the most impressive features no longer existed: The world-famous pink and white terraces, destroyed by the 1886 eruption, and the Waimangu geyser which threw water and rocks 400m into the air, but only existed briefly (from 1900-1904).

We bought some postcards and souvenirs and then went to find a place to stay. A little less luxurious this time sadly. We tried the Top Ten campsite but were totally unimpressed by the facilities (most of which were still being built). Instead, we went on to All Seasons Holiday Park, where we felt more at home and booked three nights in a cabin (for only $28 for the two of us it was only just more expensive than the tent sites). The cabin usually slept six (double bed and two bunk beds) so was very spacious, with a fridge, table and chairs and crockery and cutlery. Happy to still have a real bed and a solid roof (the weather had improved, but not much), we went back out to get some more things done.

On our way into town to pick up the photos, we took a detour past the Blue lake (a blue lake) and the Green lake (right next to it, a green lake). We were actually heading for the buried village and the lakes were just a bonus. However, the buried village was $10 each to get in and looked tiny and unimpressive. It was the partly excavated, partly restored site of a village destroyed during the 1886 eruption. Instead of going in, we bought a copy of the newspaper published after the eruption, which proved to be a very interesting read (and well worth one dollar).

Continuing towards town, we chatted about what to visit in the coming days. There were still volcanic areas to explore, and perhaps some white-water rafting. We picked up our photos and sat on a bench to look at them. Some were still from as long ago as Kangaroo Island, but there were nice pictures of NZ beaches, and of course the dolphins.

Deciding we were in no mood for cooking, we went to Burger King, where Mark tried the new Italian Chicken Burger, and Laura had her new favourite: BBQ bacon double cheeseburger. Following the meal with a trip to the cinema seemed the natural thing to do, but when we got there we discovered we’d seen all five films they were showing. We played some pinball instead and for only $2 we played for 45 minutes.

Once back at the campsite, we started to write our postcards. Mark was exhausted, so soon stopped and went to bed. Perhaps it was the heavy sulphurous gases that hung in the air here which had got to his head. Laura finished her postcards, caught up completely with the diary and designed a poster to advertise the car, then exhausted, she too went to sleep.

Next on our list was Hell’s Gate, another thermal park, this time with more sinister features. The smells grew stronger as we approached the site and we parked the car beside billowing clouds of steam. With our good time card we got two entry tickets for the price of one and so only paid $10 for the two of us to get in. What greeted us was a truly frightening sight. Bubbling pools, grey rocks with yellow sulphur deposits, steam coming out of holes in the ground and no life whatsoever. It is impossible to describe the unearthly environment, which is why we videoed it instead. The two main areas of the park were separated by a 30m walkway through green plants and past a cool pond. However the two volcanically actives areas were totally barren. We saw "Devil’s cauldron:" a black crater filled with black, boiling mud, and other pools such as the Inferno and the Devil’s throat.

From Hell’s Gate we went to the 3D maze, another of the attractions we could save on. This maze had wooden walls and several staircases and overhead walkways. We had to choose one of the three entrances, find our way to all four coloured corners and then find our way back to the original entrance. It took us a surprisingly long time to locate all of the coloured corners and sometimes we did feel well and truly lost. Three quarters of an hour later we found our way out again having completed the task and we drove back into town. We checked our e-mail and made a new hotmail address to use when selling the car. We also had the poster to try and fax off to youth hostels in Wellington, but we had to find somewhere to photocopy first. Unfortunately the shops were already closed and it was nearly time to go to the concert anyway.

A quick stop at the holiday park to change and we were off in search of the Novotel. We parked directly opposite and went in, only to find ourselves seated at a table with four other Dutch people. The room was filled with tables for 10, each was elegantly decorated with tablecloth, crockery and excessive cutlery, there was also bread and butter and a jug of water in the centre. Everything was very posh and we were even waited on (for the drinks at least).

The evening began with a traditional Mauri welcome, for which we all had to go outside and be greeted by a warrior. A representative of our group was chosen and his job was to pick up the peace token that the warrior put at his feet. This showed that we came in peace, and so we could go further. Next we were shown where the traditional Hangi food was cooked. A "Hangi" is a kind of oven in the ground. A hole is dug and a fire started in it. Rocks are put on top of it and allowed to hear up. The food is placed in flax bags on top of the hot rocks and it is covered in earth and left for 5-6 hours. When the food is retrieved it is very soft and tender and ready to eat. The Novotel’s Hangi however was a wooden box in the ground with a rack to put the food on inside it and presumably some rocks which could be heated at the bottom. The cooks in their white aprons and hats took the "Hangi" food out and it was added to the buffet table. The buffet was also packed with salads, fish, mussels, roasts, rice and sauces. All very un-mauri -like. We filled our plates (Mark three times) and tried some of the Hangi food too. It didn’t taste very different or "special" it was just very tender and a little tasteless.

Despite the disappointing nature of the meal, the concert was certainly worthwhile. Dressed in the traditional Mauri grass skirts and headbands, three men and five women danced, sang and showed off some of the Mauri arts. There were tricks with balls on a string, and a sort of juggling dance with wooden sticks. A "couple" snag a beautiful love song and there was an audience participation part. Mark joined the other male "volunteers" on the stage as they were taught some of the war dance. This involved much stamping and shouting, as well as sticking his tongue out.

On the way home from the wonderful evening, we stopped to play some pinball. Once back at the cabin Mark went straight to bed while Laura wrote another day for the diary and then joined him.