New Zealand: Day 8
A pretty cloudy start, with drizzle in the air. At breakfast were a Belgian couple,
a Russian couple and a guy from High Wycombe.
After breakfast I set off for the New Zealand
Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, incorporating the Te Whakarewarewa thermal valley. I joined the
10am tour, with a Maori guide, which was pretty interesting. He told us about Maori history, and how the
arts and crafts centre is keeping the old Maori crafts (like woodcarving), and Maori culture, alive.
Then we got on a train for a fairly brief tour of the thermal valley. This was what I'd come here to see!
The first things were a mud volcano and hot mud pool.
The tour continued to the area where the geysers were erupting. Only the "Prince of Wales Feathers"
was actually erupting, but it seemed to keep going more or less continuously. The Pohutu geyser, which
can go up to 30m, didn't erupt at all while I was there.
The intense heat causes sulphur to be deposited at the steam vents. This can be yellow or red depending on the
temperature.
The tour continued round to the Kiwi house. This is kept in semi-darkness to encourage the birds to be
active during the day. I managed to see one quite close up. A stange bird, rather larger than a curled-up
hedgehog but with a long beak. Then I went back to the thermal area and just watched the geyser for a while, before
going up to the cafe and getting a sandwich. The sun had come out and it was pretty warm now.
After leaving Te Whakarewarewa I drove a few k's up the road to Tikitere, where the thermal area
called Hell's Gate is located. This is full of very nasty and dangerous thermal features. The first sign
I saw was a notice saying "DANGER. WE ARE NOT KIDDING. YOU RISK YOUR LIFE IF YOU
WANDER FROM THE PATH".
The first thermal feature was the Devil's Bath, which is 6 meters deep and at a temperature of 95°C. Next
to this was
Hurutini, and then Hell's Gate itself. This is the largest boiling whirlpool in New Zealand, which despite
the upsurging water has no visible outlet or overflow. Its depth has not been ascertained; its temperature is
98°C. The water from the Sulphur Bath used to be used by Maori for medicinal purposes. Next to it is the
Inferno, which is hotter than the boiling point of water because it has graphite in suspension. The Infants
are steam vents. The other main feature of the lower part of the reserve was Sodom and Gomorrah, a pair
of fierce boiling mud craters.
The path ran for 100 meters through a green area with New Zealand bush plants and shrubs, in complete
contrast to the starkness of the lower thermal area. At the top were the Kakahi Falls, the largest thermal
falls in the the southern hemisphere, and have an average temperature of 38°C. People once used to
take showers under the falls.
At the top of the falls I reached the Sulphur Crystal Valley, which was mined for pure sulphur for a while.
Next was the Devil's Cauldron, a very hot seething pool of liquid mud.
Further along the path was the Mud Volcano, and then the Steaming Cliffs. The paths skirts three quite large
Hot Sulphur Lakes, one of which looks like the outline of Australia. It really was hot now and I was grateful
of the walk back through the greenery back to the visitor centre. I bought an ice cream there.
I drove back towards Rotorua, stopping at the Blue Lake briefly which wasn't very exciting except that I saw a
Tui. I continued on to the redwood grove (Sequoiadendron sempervirens) and had a half-hour walk
throught the trees. Time was now getting on, so I returned to the B&B, had a shower and went out for some
food to the same place as last night, as I'd thought it was so good. I wasn't disappointed tonight, either: I had
salmon fettucine and a huge ice cream sundae, which were very good. After eating I wandered down to the lake and got
a dramatic shot of towering clouds with a black swan on Lake Rotorua in the foreground. I returned to the B&B
and went to bed, feeling tired but happy.
Friday 9th November
Saturday 10th November
Sunday 11th November
Monday 12th November
Wednesday 14th November
Thursday 15th November
Friday 16th November
Saturday 17th November
Sunday 18th November
Monday 19th November
Tuesday 20th November
Wednesday 21st November
Thursday 22nd November
Friday 23rd November
Saturday 24th November
Sunday 25th November
Monday 26th November
Tuesday 27th November
Wednesday 28th November
Thursday 29th November
Friday 30th November
Saturday 1st December
Sunday 2nd December
Monday 3rd December
Tuesday 4th December
Wednesday 5th December
