We visited wai-o-tapu as it was described as named; "Thermal wonderland". I was especially keen to see the "natural" wonder of lady Knox geyser, so we left early to see some of the park and then seethe geyser. I did wonder how they knew it would erupt at 10.15am everyday, so we sat in eager anticipation waiting. Then a guy... More

This is interesting and very smelly of course! Remember to bring some water as once you are out walking there is no opportunity to get a drink. Beautiful colours and well worth seeing.

The geyser at 10.15 is set off by hand which removes the excitement and anticipation you'd expect from a live geyser. The walks are well maintained but the bubbling pools are not worth the $30 entrance fee. Well looked after and maintained, just not that interesting/scenic. Quite disappointing.

Wai-O-Tapu is a must-visit in Rotorua. It's an amazing assortment of colourful craters and lakes, with chemical compounds (lots of heavy metals) precipitating to the surface and staining the ground with amazing colours. The one "drawback" of Wai-O-Tapu is it's very busy and has a bit of a "zoo" feel to it, it's just that each "exhibit" is geological instead... More

Although the entry fee is quite pricey, the money was definitely worth it. Fantastic craters and pools, beautiful scenery, amazing colours and steam everywhere. Don't miss the geyser or the mud pools on the way in or out just off the main road. You do need comfortable walking shoes (it takes about 75 mins to walk around the whole area... More

We did rushed to get to the Thermal Wonderland as we were late from getting the correct direction and the traffic jams from our motel. But we did get to see the Lady Geyser from the audience seating and the natural exhibit were wonderful and educating.

Plenty to see, interesting for kids, lots of questions for them to ask. Nice walk around the thermal areas. Lady Knox Geyser is good but short (i.e. 2 minute explosion), artificially generated. Worth a visit once.

Depending on your wallking ability, I would urge you to try all three trails, but definitely the first one that includes the spectacular artist's palette lake and the champagne pool, plus the Devil's bathtub. I had never been to an attraction with hot springs, pools and geysers. This one did feel you were in another world. It takes the better... More

I had some misgivings about coming here, the most significant of which is that I had been to Yellowstone for four days just a couple of years ago. What could top that in terms of geothermal features, right? Of course, there are many similarities, but there are differences as well. For one, even though this is just a fraction of... More