Taupo and Huka Falls

I arrived in Taupo Thursday morning around 10 am, checked into Go Global Backpackers and took a hike to Huka Falls. The falls are on Waikato River which is the longest river in New Zealand. Waikato River is the only drainage for Lake Taupo, a huge crater lake formed thousands of years ago from a super volcano. The river cut into the soft bits of rock but then hit older silicate rock and found cracks and fissures to travel through. Eventually it cut deep enough into the hard bits to reach soft rock again and then collapse to form the tall walls of the river's channel.

Hell's Gate

This place is aptly named. Between the horrendous stench of sulphur and the bubbly mud pits, you'd think you entered Lucifer's lair.






Geologically, though, its heaven. The waterfalls above were once sacred Maori healing grounds. Warriors would come before fighting to mentally prepare for battle and afterwards to bathe their wounds in the medicinal water. People are still using the healing powers of the earth and indulging in mud baths at the spa, conveniently located at the entrance to Hell's Gate.

Apparently the cause of all this mess is the magma chambers that are as close as 2 and a half kilometers from the surface. Normally they are much deeper, around 15 km or so. The pools range in temperature from 40 degrees Celsius to more than 100. In Fahrenheit, thats around 100 to 200 degrees. The hottest is 138 C (about 280 F) The reason for this difference in temp has to do with how deep the vents are that release the gas and steam to the surface. Two pools that are right next to each other can, and do, have a difference of 40 degrees.

We were instructed by our guide to stay on the path since just that morning, we were told, a Japanese man left the path to get a close-up of the bubbly and the ground collapsed near the hot liquid and he had burns halfway up his leg. Needless to say, the scare tactic worked for me and I happily stuck to the trail.

Bentonite is found in large quantities in the area. Its been a while since my Physical Geology class but I remembered it in conjunction with kaolinite and the making of ceramics. But I'm fairly sure its found in the Bootlegger Cove Clay that underlies parts of Anchorage, AK. It looks like crumbly white rock but put under vibration or pressure, the liquid is released and it turns into a runny paste. Its the weirdest thing to be holding a hunk of white earth that turns into liquid right before your eyes.

Rotorua is situated around this entire geothermal area. Even in the center of town there are pools partitioned off so someone doesn't accidentally misstep.

This is my last night here, I'm off to Taupo in the morning. Cheers!!

The Maori Experience

I had a great evening at the Tamaki Maori Village. It was still raining so we didn't spend much time in the village but went directly into the Wharenui (the big house) to watch traditional Maori song and dance.



Later on in the performance, the men were taught some of the moves. It was hilarious to see these old white guys slapping their thighs, sticking out their tongues and bulging their eyes.


Afterwards, we enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared the traditional way in the earth oven. They heat volcanic rocks until they are white hot, put them in a hole, place the meat and vegetables on top, cover the whole thing with burlap and dirt and wait about 3 hours or so and PRESTO! you have a palatable treat. I was seated next to some very nice Aussies who were kind enough to share their wine with me. On the bus ride home, they announced where we were all from and we were supposed to sing a song. I didn't have a clue what to do, so I begged off. The Hawaiians sang a song, as did the Germans, English, Israeli, Irish and Swedish. A good time was had by all.

For more on Maori culture click here.

Rainy in Rotorua

I arrived by bus around 10:00pm last night and went to a hostel called Base Backpackers. Today the rain continues and its a bit discouraging. I did go for a walk along the shores of the lake and saw some of the geothermal pools (and smelled them, too) but by the time I came back I was soaked, even with my raincoat on. There are many different species of waterfowl, even though nothing much grows along the sulphur shores. The pools of muddy boiling water look like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Auckland Botanical Gardens

One of the many beautiful beaches

Rangitoto - New Zealand's Youngest Volcano

Views from the top and at the lava caves. I had to take a ferry to get to the island. Not much on it except for the trees and shrubbery you see in the crater.

Geologically its pretty cool. Its only about 600 years old so where there isn't green, its a sea of basalt.