Wairakei Thermal Park

We skirt around the east side of Lake Taupo in the morning,  in a chilly drizzle at 9 degrees  C  , and steer north towards the, hopefully warmer, Wairakei Thermal area.  Geothermal power plants have produced electricity from the massive amounts of underground steam vents up there since 1958.

In places the steam is too thick to see through.

Sometimes people have steam vents suddenly open up in their yards, which could be scary, but it can also be useful for hot tubs and heat. We keep seeing these makeshift boxes in peoples backyards with tin roofing thrown over them which mark their personal hot spots.

The Maori used to ( and still do sometimes) cook over these.

The Maoris have all kinds of stories about the power of steam and the nearby Waipato River  which are both being utilized today to generate electricity.

The clear blue Waikato River flows out of Lake Taupo , dropping down Huka Falls  with the tremendous force of more than 40 cubic meters per second. This river system supplies about 15% of New Zealand’s electricity and is also used to cool the hot water as it leaves the steam plants. Paddlers and jet boats play on it as well. It is amazing to me that cold water and hot steam live so close together.

There are many parks built around all the theraml activity of the region and we hit as many as we can.

Craters of the Moon

You would not want to venture off the walk here because the ground is  obviously unstable and new steam vents open all the time.

All kinds and colors of minerals are brought to the surface with the steam.

You might not think that plants would grow near these vents, but some plants and algae are especially adapted for heat and acidity.

Wairakei Terraces

The original Pink and White Terraces of Wairakei, were historically  natural rock silica rim-pools and mineral water baths,  but they were  destroyed by the eruption of nearby  Mt Tarawara in June of 1886. Nearby Maori villages were also destroyed and over a hundred people died that night.

A new man-built replica spa was built and opened in 2011  using the natural hot springs in the area. The new terraces and hot pools are slowly beginning to look more natural with the waters’ own silica and mineral deposits growing new layers.

The owners have built large outdoor hot spa pools and landscaped with traditional looking Maori buildings and sculptures.  Although no longer a Natural Wonder of the World, it is still worth a walk through the landscape, although we did not spring for the more expensive Spa and Massage, nor the Maori Experience

Since it was close to Christmas when we were there, the New Zealand Christmas tree was blooming nicely.

Pohutikawa Tree Flowers

 

This evergreen native Myrtle, or Pohutukawa, is a threatened species and they are trying to replant and protect them.

Driving again through typical New Zealand green farmland, taking a back road…Next stop-

Orakei Karako

This park has a cave amid a thermal area on the other side of a small lake.  To get there we board  a little  shuttle boat with a Maori pilot who flings the boat back and forth across the tiny lake and seems to keep himself amused by the speed at which he flips the boat around and in towards the docks. He is very good at it. It starts raining again, but that is OK, the boat has a shelter roof and it is kind of nice to be out in the rain in such a strange place.

We step out of the boat and are faced with a wet, rocky bald area, with steam rising from it, carved out of the woods, oozing bright orange hot water and green slime.

 

 

 

Wooden walkways lead us around in  circles  all through the woods and we keep coming out to clearings with more vents, geysers and flowstone terraces.

A Huge Geyser Spouts From This Hole

This is a zoom shot of a where a geyser blows boiling hot water  out the side of a hill for a few minutes about every 20 minutes. We ate our lunch and watched it while sheltering under a little open sided  hut in the rain. it was like watching a monster come roaring out of its cave .

The actual cave in the woods, that we came here special to see, is closed, and seems to be full of water anyway. They say it is one of only two caves in the world that are thermally active. We were disappointed we couldn’t go caving, especially since it was raining outside, but the rest of the park  was fascinating, with all the geysers and bubbling hot springs and mud pools. On the way back out of the park, we notice there is even steam venting through little holes in the gravel parking lot…

Onward towards Rotorua via the Waimangu Valley.

Waio-Tapu Thermal Park

Continuing on, we stop at the Waio-Tapu Thermal Park .It is no longer raining. This place seems to be on a larger scale.

The Pied Stilt looking for insects seems to be in hot water but it is shallow here and has cooled. It is very acidic though.

The are most beautiful greens and oranges along the edges of this hot spring.

This was a beautiful park with lots of varied scenery and pathways that got you close without risking your life. There were plenty of places a person could get hurt but the signage was clear enough.

Then we stopped nearby at a roadside thermal mud pool to watch viscous mineraly mud bubble for a bit. Jeff loves watching mud bubble and has many movies. Onward to Rotorua…

Rotorua

We set up camp for the night at Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park, which had a really well organized kitchen, great campsites and best of all, large clean hot tubs fed by hot springs, which did not cost extra.

There were quite a few people with different set ups camping in the non powered sites, like this upstairs roof tent.

The kitchen had five separate cooking stations so you could be with people without being in each others way. Each L had a sink, stove and bench top. Also, there was a long communal counter with hot water, toasters, microwaves and a dining area with a porch.  Everybody kept it really clean, too.

The hot tubs fed by the local hot mineral water were clean, about 3 meters square,  newly refurbished concrete, and the perfect temperature.  They were three in a fenced area open to the stars with change rooms connected. We met some nice folks there and had a good time talking together about our travels. It was the best hot tub yet.

The day had finally cleared and turned warm and the night was the warmest yet. We were glad to have our screened and ventilated tent attachment. We noticed the other camper vans were all steamed up in the morning, while we had plenty of fresh air in ours.

Tomorrow, there is lots more to see around Rotorua and then we will go out to the coast.

Wendy lee, writing at Edgewise Woods, Gardens and Critters