As were getting a quick safety training session for the whitewater rafting, Puala asked if I had been whitewater rafting before.  Unlike Sachi, I had not.  Paula, one of our guides whispered to me with a devious look in her eye "don't worry we'll pop your cherry gently."  I suppose it was gently considering the part of the Kaitunu  that we did was a class 5 rapid and at 21 feet, has the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world. Gently indeed.

This is river surfing..

We went with Raftabout, in Rotorua, which is one a few companies that do the Kaituna.  The cost was $75 NZ per person, plus pictures. We enjoyed the folks and certainly the trip with Raftabout. 

Pohutu Geyser, in Te Puia Thermal Reserve, Rotorua, New Zealand, originally uploaded by LeeLeFever_TwinF.

Rotorua, along with being the most visited places in New Zealand, has steam rising from unexpected places, as it sits upon a hotspot, like Hawaii and Yellowstone. Our campground even has thermal baths and boiling mud - the campsites are "self heated".

This morning we saw some full frontal thermal activity Te Puia Thermal Reserve, including a short wait to see the eruption of the famous Pohutu Geyser which was worth it. The reserve cost $25NZ per person and we thought it was a good value and realized we were a bit spoiled by Yellowstone, which is more expansive and dramatic. Still, Te Puia was a good value.

That's me taking other photos in the foreground.