These pictures were taken in and around Rotorua on February 12, 2005.
Ever since I knew I was coming to New Zealand, I have been talking about
going Zorbing :) This fun but pointless adventure activity which I saw
on The Amazing Race involves essentially rolling down a hill in a giant
plastic ball filled with water :) There's me in the Zorb. It was quite
fun and I definitely want to go again next time I am in Rotorua.
Rotorua was voted New Zealand's most beautiful city several years in a
row. The downtown centre was actually kind of bland and grey, but this
quaint building here is the town museum and was quite spectacular. They
built the museum in the former town spa and bathhouse. I didn't get to
go inside as my traveling companion had already seen it, but next time
it is on my list of things to do.
This pit of steam is an example of the "geothermal activity" Rotorua is
known for. It was really nothing more than a pit of steaming water, no
doubt closed off for safety reasons and for the tourists :)
We had lunch and poked around downtown Rotorua than headed out of the
city to look at the natural attractions. This here is the 'blue lake' so
named because it is right beside another lake which is green. There is a
lookout point where you can see both lakes at once to compare them, but
it was too overcast and the green lake looked just as blue to me.
Shortly after the lookout point is the buried village of Te Wairoa. This
was a Maori village that served as a tourism hub for the Pink and White
Terraces, a pair of naturally occurring tiered hot springs that were
popular int he 19th century. Both the town and the terraces were
destroyed in the eruption of Mount Tarawera is the 1840's. The buried
village is a rather sanitized excavation of the ruins of Te Wairoa. This
is the blacksmith's shop and you can see some natural stuff here.
Another relic from the ruins of Te Wairoa. There are some Maori carvings
up the side that are apparently significant. As further FYI on the
disaster, 150 people died in the town and surrounding area and the
disaster is considered the worst natural disaster in New Zeland history.
One of the more gruesome stories on display at the museum is that of the
schoolmaster, whose wife got pinned to her chair when the roof caved in,
and had to sit there helplessly as her several dying children called out
to her for help.
And an example here of nature moving on :) The buried village is tucked
in among the picturesque Te Wairoa creek, with several lookout points
tastefully carved out for the tourists to take pictures :)
And where there is a creek, there must be a waterfall :) Behold, Te
Wairoa Falls :)
Our final stop of the day was Hell's Gate, New Zealand's largest
"geothermal park." Lots of bubbling mud and boiling streams.
And what would a "geothermal park" be without the largest hot waterfall
in the Southern hemisphere? :)
More fun with geothermal activity...
And a final impressive image :) This was actually a day of such low
activity that they gave us coupons to come back later for free, so
imagine how this would look on a day when things were really active!
Ever since I knew I was coming to New Zealand, I have been talking about
going Zorbing :) This fun but pointless adventure activity which I saw
on The Amazing Race involves essentially rolling down a hill in a giant
plastic ball filled with water :) There's me in the Zorb. It was quite
fun and I definitely want to go again next time I am in Rotorua.
Rotorua was voted New Zealand's most beautiful city several years in a
row. The downtown centre was actually kind of bland and grey, but this
quaint building here is the town museum and was quite spectacular. They
built the museum in the former town spa and bathhouse. I didn't get to
go inside as my traveling companion had already seen it, but next time
it is on my list of things to do.
This pit of steam is an example of the "geothermal activity" Rotorua is
known for. It was really nothing more than a pit of steaming water, no
doubt closed off for safety reasons and for the tourists :)
We had lunch and poked around downtown Rotorua than headed out of the
city to look at the natural attractions. This here is the 'blue lake' so
named because it is right beside another lake which is green. There is a
lookout point where you can see both lakes at once to compare them, but
it was too overcast and the green lake looked just as blue to me.
Shortly after the lookout point is the buried village of Te Wairoa. This
was a Maori village that served as a tourism hub for the Pink and White
Terraces, a pair of naturally occurring tiered hot springs that were
popular int he 19th century. Both the town and the terraces were
destroyed in the eruption of Mount Tarawera is the 1840's. The buried
village is a rather sanitized excavation of the ruins of Te Wairoa. This
is the blacksmith's shop and you can see some natural stuff here.
Another relic from the ruins of Te Wairoa. There are some Maori carvings
up the side that are apparently significant. As further FYI on the
disaster, 150 people died in the town and surrounding area and the
disaster is considered the worst natural disaster in New Zeland history.
One of the more gruesome stories on display at the museum is that of the
schoolmaster, whose wife got pinned to her chair when the roof caved in,
and had to sit there helplessly as her several dying children called out
to her for help.
And an example here of nature moving on :) The buried village is tucked
in among the picturesque Te Wairoa creek, with several lookout points
tastefully carved out for the tourists to take pictures :)
And where there is a creek, there must be a waterfall :) Behold, Te
Wairoa Falls :)
Our final stop of the day was Hell's Gate, New Zealand's largest
"geothermal park." Lots of bubbling mud and boiling streams.
And what would a "geothermal park" be without the largest hot waterfall
in the Southern hemisphere? :)
More fun with geothermal activity...
And a final impressive image :) This was actually a day of such low
activity that they gave us coupons to come back later for free, so
imagine how this would look on a day when things were really active!