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Kerosene Creek

This is one of the most beautiful thermal spots on offer in our region - and it is as natural (and as free!) as it gets.

Kerosene Creek features a lot in early Murupara history, being an early stopping stage for locals on their trip to or from Rotorua. Here they'd often bathe and change clothes before heading into the bright lights of town back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Absolutely family friendly, with lots of small waterfalls to massage those muscles, it remains a firm favourite with both locals and tourists alike, who have dug out holes in the rocks to sit under the small falls and enjoy the warmth of the water.

The getting there is easy, it is just past the Rainbow Mountain turnoff on SH 5 and you'll turn onto Old Wai-O-Tapu Rd, which is a gravelled road. Go exactly 2.2kms down there, park in the small carpark on the right. 

The path to the falls is evident, with a two minute walk expected. There are small falls, then a little further in, the larger ones. A word of warning, leave your valuables back at the camp and not in your car.

At night, take a torch.

In the height of the summer, if the forest fire season is extreme, the gates to the road will be closed and you would have to walk.

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