We only saw the first part of the walking trail, but it was amazing! Frying pan lake is huge and the wind stirring the steam coming off of it is mesmerizing Give yourself a good three hours to enjoy the whole walking trail. You walk down into the valley and a bus can bring you back up. But the bus runs every 50-60 minutes.

You start your walk on designated trails and end up at a lake where you can board a small boat for a 45 minute tour of the lake. After the boat tour a bus takes you back to the entrance. Along the way you see many small ponds,mini geysers, boiling mud pools and lots of rock formations. It was here in 1886 that a major eruption occurred with a considerable loss of life.

The hike is easy... All downhill or flat. There's a lot to see between the start and bus stop 1. There's not as much to see further along but it's still a lovely walk and worth it. The boat cruise is interesting but probably not worth doing on its own.

Just loved the thermal parks on Rotorua! We took a tour to do both parks at the same morning and was a great option. Slow and not rushed. The park is nice and well organized. You have trails to follow and even a bus system to take you back to the main entrance because would be an uphill journey! Not to be missed.

If I could give this 6 stars I would. I was just so, so thrilled to see this amazing natural wonder. Only 140 years ago the lush, verdant valley was bare, and blasted with ash and mud from the volcanic eruption, which also enlarged the lake. The trip is an easy 3.5 km walk down the valley (you can do some steep climbing on a side trail, but the trees seemed too high to afford a decent view) past steaming lakes, hot springs with their mineral mediated colourful crystals, then a delightful boat ride on the lake. It looks like Wales which was shaped by the same natural processes 450 million year ago - not recently enough for the result to be captured on camera!