We got up about 8am and after breakfast set off for the Volcanic Centre. Its seems that there could be no better place in the world for Ali and Maisie to learn about volcanoes than here and despite the fact that it is absolutely pissing down with rain we’re all looking forward to the day. The Volcanic Centre isn’t very big but has some good displays including a model of the worlds 8 tectonic plates which we build, a room where we experience a 6.1 (on the Richter Scale) earthquake, loads of information including explanations of magma, calderas, lava etc and a 20 minutes video showing footage of the eruption of Mt Ruapehu in 1995/6.

We buy a miniature table volcano to play with later and I get a face mask made from thermal mud. Next we stop at the Geothermal Walk area called Craters of the Moon. Although it’s raining very heavily we really want to get out and have a good look around. The kids aren’t as cheerful as earlier and the atmosphere as we make our way around the boardwalks isn’t very happy. Still it only takes us about an hour and is definitely one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. The area is covered with steam vents and mud pools and it’s quite a strange experience listening to the steam pouring out of the earth in huge clouds. Although you weren’t supposed to go too near, we did and although expected it’s weird to feel the heat coming out of the ground.

Back in the car we’re fairly soaked and decide to drive to Rotorua about 40 minutes away. When we arrive we vote for pizza hut for lunch and spend an hour in there stuffing our faces which cheers the kids up no end. We book into a motel. It’s a nice place with a Jacuzzi out the back and we pour loads of bubble bath in before jumping in. Our own foam party! The kids have been concentrating on literacy for the past week and practicing their writing and spelling (Maisie!). They do some good work, researching famous volcanoes on the internet, making notes and then presenting the information to us. Ali presented Mt Vesuvius and Kilauea and Maisie presented Mt Fuji and Tambora. Well done kids.

We spent the evening watching a couple of films from the local video shop and eating sweets and chocolate for dinner. Tomorrow we’re going to the Maori Village in an effort to learn a bit about Maori Culture so looking forward to that.