ROTORUA - NEW ZEALAND

24th - 26th Jul 2011

The Princes Gate Hotel. Rotorua.

From Russell on the Naked Bus, via Auckland and Hamilton ( slight hiccup here where, due to a sprinkling of snow somewhere further south, we had to change bus ) to Rotorua. New Zealanders in the north island are even less prepared for snow than in UK; probably because they rarely get it at sea level. I was told to get off one bus, but the replacement went off without me! Stranded! I had a serious Basil Fawlty moment or two. I did eventually get to Rororua, late. By instinct alone I checked into what turned out to be a delightfully old fashioned hotel, the Princes Gate. I asked the receptionist 'how much to stay?'. He replied 'how much do you want to pay?'. We came to a sensible arrangement. This is one of the big advantages of travelling 'off season'. This hotel, built in 1870, has an interesting history which, if you are interested, I'm sure is detailed on the internet somewhere. I can strongly recommend it, even if the food is a bit iffy and expensive.

Rotorua smells of rotten eggs; it's due to all the sulphurous hot springs and other stuff which erupts from under the surface. You quickly get used to it. It is also very much a Maori homeland with plenty of things to see and do. Fascinating place.

The whole area around Rotorua ( 'big lake' in Maori ) is a seething geo-thermal cauldron. It consists of an array of boiling mud pools, hot springs, bubbling craters, steaming hot streams, fumaroles ( hissing steam issuing from holes in the ground ), geysers, volcanos and weird coloured pools. It serves as a sort of pressure relief valve for where the earth's crust, at 8 km deep ( I was told ), is at it's thinnest. It looks like a scene from another planet, or this one in prehistoric times.
The boiling mud ( right ) is a type of clay known as kaolin. It is used for pharmaceutical purposes, including make-up. I remember my father using it in poultices for horses' legs, rather than lip-stick.
Anyway, despite the fact that you feel the whole place is about to explode I went on a tour the next day. It was just me, a French student and our excellent Maori guide Uru. We set off on a beautifully bright and sunny morning into what is advertised as the thermal wonderland of Wai-o-Tapu. 

Left: Uru, our guide, standing beside one of the weird coloured ponds. He was incredibly knowledgeable about all things to do with the geology of the area, as well as the Maori and colonial history, together with all the strange flora and fauna we encountered. It was quite an education which he enthusiastically gave us.

The strange colours in the pools and rocks are dependant on which minerals are present, ie iron=red, sulphur=yellow, manganese=purple, silica=white, antimony=orange etc. etc.

Right: Another strange coloured pool ( ferrous sulphide perhaps ). It would definitely not be a good idea to fall into any of these even, like this one, if they weren't steaming.

The last major volcanic eruptions which occurred in this area of fire and steam were at the very beginning of the last century. The landscape was considerably changed as a result. Due to the volcanic ash and rock it is remarkably fertile.

Left: This pond looked like it had a solid covering on the right side. Apparently this was 'azolla', whatever that is.
There was a lake around here, until 1901, famous for spectacular pink and white terraces formed by volcanic activity. A major tourist attraction in those days. A large eruption in 1902 destroyed the lot, plus many villages. This is an area of constantly changing scenery

Right: We went further on down the Waimaugu volcanic valley, towards Lake Taupo. This place was called Echo Crater. If you shouted it did indeed have an impressive echo. The crater looked as if it was steaming......



... which, on closer inspection, it really was. It was actually boiling!

Right: Further on, Inferno Crater. This was a bright turquoise coloured pool which, for some reason, went up and down in depth, as if it had a tide.

Left: Nearby, the Lady Knox geyser. This spouted to a height of about 40 feet. It was artificially made to erupt at 1015hrs each day to satisfy us tourists. This was accomplished by the warden chappie pouring some soap powder down the hole. This broke the meniscus between a reservoir of boiling and not boiling subterrainian water and...hey presto!
Lady Knox was the wife of a late 19th century governor. Good for her.

Right: A local stream. It looks as though it should be a nice mountain trout stream, except that any trout in here would be ready cooked. The temperature of the water was about 85 degrees centigrade.







Lots of other things seen and learnt from Uru. Did you know there are about 100 varieties of fern in NZ? The shoots of one particular variety form a staple part of the Maori diet. Some look like palm trees with fern like leaves. Some just grow at ground level, like the silver fern ( silver colour under the leaf ) which is the 'All Blacks' badge. Lots of plants around the area are effectively used as medicines and, apparently, much to the dismay of doctors and pharmaceutical companies actually work!

Left. With Uru at some other bubbling pit.

Next up was a visit ti a Maori village called Te Puia. We started off at the 'Marae', a Maori meeting place at the centre of which is their meeting hall. A show was put on consisting of much song and dance, including the infamous 'Ka mate' haka. ( haka is the word for song/dance ). It was the pre-match routine carried out by the All Blacks until 2005 when, for reasons I am unsure of, it was changed to a haka called 'Kapa o Pango'. 'Ka mate, Ka mate, Ka ora Ka ora', means 'Death ( to you ), Death; Life ( for us ), Life'. A famous battle song. Haven't a clue what 'Kapa o Pango' means. Probably something more 'politically correct' like 'Tiptoe through the Tulips'. We men were 'persuaded' to get up on stage to do it, rather badly. The ladies were got up to do something involving swinging balls on the end of string to music. They weren't any better.

We were then taken by another amusing guide, Carla, around the village ( OK, it was a bit touristy ). One stop was the Kiwi House. This had two real life kiwis in residence. It is very rare to see kiwis in the wild because a) they are rare, and b) they are nocturnal. The Kiwi House was kept in twilight and photography was strictly banned. They very timid and easily scared. One male kiwi was, however, conveniently awake and poking around for grubs. Did you know that kiwis a) have nostrils at the end of their beaks, because they hunt at night by smell, b) are the size of a small hen, c) their eggs are as large as that of a bird six times their size, d) they sleep 20 hours and are only awake to feed, at night, for 4 hours. Carla said that this is why they are the NZ emblem...ha ha ha! e) they can live for 40 years in captivity, but only about 20 years in the wild. f) Although they cannot fly, they are speedy runners. I think she said they can go 80 kph. I might have got that bit wrong.

We were taken to see another impressive mud pool ( left ) called the Frog Pool because the spouting lumps of mud looked like jumping frogs. The temperature at the surface is about 85 degrees celsius. The pool is about 100 feet deep and it is not adviseable to fall in.

Then to wait for two, co-located, geysers to spout. These erupt naturally, normally twice an hour. We waited and waited and...just before everyone got bored and went away.... whoomf!!! The smaller one on the left is called 'The Prince of Wales' Feathers', because that is what the Prince of Wales ( Edward V111 ) said it looked like when he visited, that on the right shoots up to 100 feet and is called Pohutu. It is the biggest geyser in NZ.

...on through a 'typical' old Maori village. They live in more modern accomodation nowadays, I suspect. This sort of stuff is now reserved for backpacking Brits.

    

...and ( right ) a traditional waka ( canoe ) undergoing repairs. There are many different types of Maori waka. They had double-hulled sail powered things for their ocean going voyages, and lots of in-between sized models.

 

Left: A typical Maori carving. They are big into carving wood, as displayed in all their houses, furniture and implements. They have special Maori carving colleges to train up youngsters and are keen not to let the art die out.

Right: A series of totem poles. The Maori are remarkably 'spiritual' people. These totem poles ( normally wood; not like the modern steel things shown here ) grace all their villages.

From those that I have encountered, I rather admire the Maori. They are intensely proud of their history, language and traditions, they have a great sense of humour and they don't take shit from anybody. They are strong, brave and smart and, I suspect, make excellent soldiers. They certainly make excellent rugby players, as evidenced by their preponderence in the All Blacks teams ( as per Fijians, Samoans and Tongans ).
I spent some time splashing about in the 'Polynesian Spa' near the hotel, which boasted 7 thermal pools, and a naturally heated bit of lake. Some were bleedin' hot! Once you got used to the pong it was quite relaxing and, supposedly, good for your aching joints. Not sure that I would want to do it too often....a bit boring, and expensive.
Lots of other things to do in Rotorua such as cable-cars, lugeing down concrete hill runs, zorbing, shweebing ( no, I hadn't heard of it before either), bungy jumping in ravines, line 'swooping ( don't ask ), jet-boating, helicopter rides, parachuting, riding horses and much more. It was a great place and I didn't give myself enough time there because I had an appointment further south. Can't recommend the place highly enough. You should drop in if you're passing....