VOLCANIC VALLEY

   A few kilometers south of Rotorua, there is a hydrothermal system whose surface activity began in 1886 with the eruption of Mt. Tarawera.  There have been four more eruptions since, the last taking place in 1973.  This volcanic valley is a protected Scenic Reserve with extensive geothermal features, and the only New Zealand example of a biosystem re-establishing after complete devastation by a volcanic eruption.

Visitors to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley can enjoy a two-hour hike along a well maintained path from the Welcome Center to beautiful Lake Rotomahana and/or take a boat cruise around the lake to view geothermal and volcanic features not visible from the shore.  Kathy, Michele, and I signed up for both.

As we made our way from the parking lot to the Welcome Center, we heard the chanting of the haka, the Maori war challenge dance, but it ended before we arrived at the center.  After using the restroom, however, we encountered three performers by their truck, and after pleading a bit, we got a short private performance.  Very nice of them.

There are a lot of volcanic and geothermal features to view along the trail, including volcanic craters and lakes.  You can see steaming rocks around one of these craters.

With an average temperature of 130°, this volcanic lake isn't fit for swimming, and you'd be better off steaming your fish here than trying to catch one!

 

We walked beside a hot water creek for quite a distance and saw some very colorful algae and mineral deposits.

There were lots of steaming pools and rocks along the way.

And we saw an occasional mini-geyser.

The water in this pool was an amazing aqua blue.

The reforestation of this area is in the second stage of three.  These are interesting trees that I've not seen before.  They look like tepees with palm fronds growing at the top.

Mt. Tarawera, the erupting culprit, dominated the horizon of Lake Rotomahana from our vantage point at the end of the hiking trail.  We had carried our lunch with us and enjoyed this view from our picnic table.  You can see one of the craters from here.

After lunch, we boarded this boat for our lake cruise.

This geyser was one of the cruise highlights.  It was quite active, and we wondered if it was somehow a staged performance.  It seemed a coincidence that the onset of gushing commenced just as our boat slowed to an idle by it.

I took a lot of photos at this place, and it was difficult to select some highlights for this blog, except for this picture of three friends enjoying the day together.

ROTORUA

Kathy, Michele, and I headed south of Auckland for a tour of the geothermal area of Rotorua, about a two and a half hour drive, where we planned to spend the night.  When we arrived, we rented an apartment across from lovely Lake Rotorua.

There were several inhabitants of this lake, including these red-billed black swans.

In one area there was a swarm of small ducks, many of which were snoozing while others were lounging or feeding.

There are Maori living in this area, and there were examples of structures reflecting the traditions of this native people.  This is St. Faith's Anglican Church.

Inside the church was this beautiful glass etching of Jesus with Maori features.

His Maori features are easier to distinguish in this closeup.  It's not easy to see that this Jesus has the face tattoos typical of the Maori.  He is also wearing a Maori cloak.

These face markings, called ta moko, tell the story of the wearer's family and tribal affiliations.  Here's an example on a man who is demonstrating the facial expression used in the haka, the Maori war challenge dance, the intention of which is to frighten the enemy away, thereby avoiding combat.  I think I would run the other way if confronted by a group of these Maori warriors challenging me in this way.  Back in the day, these tattoos were created by making incisions on the face with a knife and then pouring dye into the cuts.  OUCH!

Many Maori women also have face markings, usually on the chin and upper lip.  (Yes, this is a woman.)

This building had no signage, but we figured it was a meeting hall.

The wood carvings on Maori buildings have significance also, often related to ancestors.

This is the prow of a very large Maori canoe that provides another example of their skillfiul carving.

We walked around the lake for a while and then veered off to see the Government Gardens and the Rotorua Museum of Art and History, housed in this colorful building.  

The day was too lovely to spend inside, so we just continued on to the rose garden.

This very modern sculpture was interesting and beautiful.

There are many thermal pools in and around Rotorua, from tiny ones like this that are marked for safety....

To medium size pools....

To the opposite extreme...large pools that are simmer and steam.

At one of the pools, we could see our shadows in the steam, and the shadow seemed to move eerily toward the person casting it.  This is my shadow floating toward me.

After a rest and a glass of delicious New Zealand white wine, we went out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant and had a delicious meal.  It had been a breezy day, but the wind seemed almost gale force on the walk back to our motel.  

This was an area that wasn't on my list of places to visit, but I glad my friends encouraged me to see it.  Thermal pools are a lot more interesting than I imagined they would be.

AUCKLAND, WITH FRIEND

At the Kuala Lumpur airport, you go through a security check twice--once to get into the concourse area and again to get into the waiting area at your departure gate.  I was standing in the security check line for the departure gate when a petite young Chinese woman queued up behind me and started a conversation.  Then, after I was seated in the waiting area, she found me and sat beside me, and we chatted some more before we boarded.  We discovered we were sitting beside each other on the plane, so maybe we were supposed to meet.  

Vera is 27 and has a degree in Telecommunications.  After working in her field for five years, she decided she wanted to do something different.  So she was flying to New Zealand, where she was able to get a work visa for a year, and she is planning to pick fruit.  That's definitely something different.  We parted ways at the Auckland airport with promises to try to connect while we were both there.

We did connect a week later.  I was planning to tour the Art Gallery that day, but she wanted to climb a mountain, which didn't interest me.  So we met for lunch after doing our separate tours and decided to follow the city walk on the Lonely Planet website as an afternoon activity.

We skipped some of the suggested sites that involved shopping--of no interest to either of us--but found some interesting buildings and had a good walk together.  Our first stop was the Town Hall.

Nearby was the Civic Theater where we saw this very interesting wood sculpture.  That modern building behind is the theater.

The Art Gallery was on the walking tour, so we headed back in that direction to get a photo.  It's a beautuful building, and there's an excellent collection of art there.

Then we walked through Albert Park, which is very lovely.  There are some really amazing old trees there, as well as beautiful flower beds.

Our next stop was the university's clock tower.

 And on the campus, grounds, we also saw the Old Governor's House.

We skipped the designer shops and pubs and instead walked toward the wharf.  We cut through a park where, again, there were some gnarly trees with interesting branches that arched over the sidewalk.

At the wharf, there were two big cruise ships docked.  I think we passed by all their passengers on the streets of the city.  

There is water everywhere around Auckland...it's a lucky city to have these harbor views.

I've not befriended many young people on this trip, but Vera and I were good companions despite the 40 year age difference between us.  

EAST COAST WHITE SAND

Kathy and I drove up the east coast, north of Auckland, to have luch with Jenny, a friend of hers, and to tour some of the beaches on this coast.  There was a lovely beach across from the restaurant where we had lunch in the small town of Orewa.

Jenny lives in a lovely neighborhood in Algies Bay and has a great sea view from her home.

We drove to the rather ritzy nearby neighborhood of Omaha where there was a lovely white sand beach and the water was several shades of sea blue.

 I liked this beautiful, almost perfectly shaped Norfolk pine tree.

We also went to another beach, but the view there can't beat the ones you've already seen.  On the drive back to the city,  I got very lucky to capture Auckland's skyline with its Sky Tower while we were stuck in rush hour traffic.  Auckland is a city that's spread out wide and far, and you don't see many skyscrapers outside this downtown area.

Another relaxing day enjoying the gorgeous sea scapes that surround this area of New Zealand.