I recently took a friend from Rotorua to visit Wairakei Terraces and Thermal Spa. It was her first time there and she was well-impressed! We wallowed around in the silky-smooth water for half a day, enjoying the peaceful ambiance (pool admission is only for those 14 years and over). The silica-laden water is the most vibrant blue that I’ve ever seen in a geothermal bathing pool. We brought a picnic lunch to eat in the park-like surrounds (I didn’t realise that an on-site cafe had opened in the last year).