We made the trek to the top of the lookout and then did some of the forest walks for the rest of the morning.  The area actually reminded us a little of Montana...dry with mountains and forest areas.  (Except it was *very* hot!)  Brent commented on how different the areas are from place to place.  I, on the other hand, am a seasoned NZ tramper and am well acquainted with these differences.

After our walks, we spent the afternoon at the thermal pools.  The pools were ~102F which was a bit too hot for us on an ~87F day.  We switched over to the sulfur pools which, although stinky, were more comfortable at ~97F.