Waimangu Volcanic Valley

Good place to explore, and lots to see. Some tracks are closed due to flooding, but there is always an alternative route. Easy walk, and shuttle bus is available to take us back to the entrance and carpark, which is time saving. There are three bus stops along the way, and you can find out the scheduled time either at the bus stop or in your brochure. Once in the valley, toilet is only available at bus stop 2, so get prepared. Boat cruise is an option at the end of the walkway, and the price is not included in the entry ticket. A Cafe and a gift shop are located at the entrance. Free carpark outside.

At first I was angry with the holiday company for asking me to arrived at 0815 for a self guided tour which I could have done at anytime, I discovered. However. It meant I had the valley to myself for the first hour. Which was spectacular. A brisk walk to the boat via the Haszard Hike and back took about 2.5 hours. Some stunning views and geysers. Highly recommend a visit.

This valley is full of stunning views! Okay here is a recommended roadmap:Buy your tickets online or on call with them if you are planning for a boat ride which is worth a shot! And keep in mind the schedule of the boat and buses! You can even go and buy the tickets there but do have a schedule to enjoy your day there.Now, there is a busway down the lake from the visitor center. I recommend you hike down the lake planning accordingly to your boat ride. With good stamina, I would say give around 1-1.5 hrs of hiking down the hill including all the scenic points.Then take the boat ride (~45 min) and then bus up the hill.You can change it if you like to hike up the hill but that's a steep hike which we did but would require good stamina. It's a constant up the hill hike.

There's so much to see and it's fascinating and beautiful. Allow 2 hours for the 4 km walk so you have time to stop and look at each site along the way. Everything is well marked and you can follow along with the brochure to get information about what you're seeing.The boat trip at the end of the walk is well worth it! We saw so many incredible things, and the captain was a great tour guide! Very informative and engaging. You can take a shuttle bus back to the starting point from the boat dock or you can walk back.Highly recommended. Worth every penny of the cost. The website is easy to use and the staff are super friendly and helpful. My photos from Waimangu are some of my favorites overall from my entire trip.

Beautiful staged walk with lots of information. Went on a quiet day and nearly had the place to ourselves to wander and enjoy. Lots of birds to spot as well. Great you can do just the highlights or walk all the way to the lake.

Self guided walking tour is well worth the 2 hr walk. The boat ride out on the lake to see where the pink and white terraces

Not only were the views and trails nothing like I’ve ever seen, but the amount of respect and appreciation the staff has for the land is unmatched and you can feel how much they care for what they do there. We had an experience like no other here, since the staff made a mistake with our boat tour, they made up for it by allowing us tour with the owners and descendants of the land, where we were greeted and informed of the rich Māori culture. One of our best experiences during our trip to New Zealand.

Just beautiful and incredibly interesting. Took the route to stop 21 and then headed up the high trail. Be ready to climb. Backtracked to 22 when we descended the other side so we didn't miss anything. Didn't have time for the boat ride but plenty to see on land.

A self-paced walk through an active geothermal park. It claimed to be the youngest thermal park. The walk is mostly downhill and flat but don't bring flip flops. You are handed a pamphlet with information for each stop. The self-guided tour ends at the lake, and if you book ahead of time, you can take a tour of the lake as well. Busses will take you back up considering you went downhill the whole time. It's worth the time. The views are spectacular at the lake and the geothermal pools are quite interesting to see.

We stumbled across this park on the way to Lake Taupo, and ended up staying all day. A must for hikers! Scenery is amazing. Pick up buses stop at 3 points and are free once you pay the park entrance fee. The cafe has great coffee. The only downside is the cost of entry is high at $46 per person.