Big Geysers, Big Maoris’ and the Big “Lord of the Rings” countryside.

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We arrive in Rotorua after the fun of Zorbing down the hill and a stop at Ruakuri were we walked through some beautiful caves and fern lined forest. The Silver Fern, the New Zealand national emblem is one of many ferns that grow everywhere in the forests of New Zealand.

Once settled into the Hostel we went to the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute - Te Puia

Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao - The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao

During this hours tour we learnt more about the Maori way of life, how they lived and many of the crafts that are still practiced to this day. Within this area there are two geysers and hot mud pools. The main geyser is the 2nd biggest in the world after Old Faithful in the USA. The Pohutu Geyser erupts about 2 to 3 times every hour and the water can reach up to 15 metres in the air. The other geyser The Prince of Wales, named after Prince Edward Albert when he visited the area in the 1900. It was named after him because when it erupts the steam looks like the plums of feathers on his hat. When it erupts it is an indicator that the Pohutu geyser is about to erupt too. The water can reach up to 7 metres high.

Ngamokaiakomo Mud pools are named after the playful nature the children that lived in this area, the mud is very hot in this pool and when the mud jumps out of the pool looks a bit like jumping frogs. The mud is used in beauty products that are sold in the area. We also saw the huts that the Maori people lived in and saw students learning the wood carving traditions that are still used in carvings and displays in New Zealand.

The group was really looking forward to the evening’s entertainment that our Guide Dave had organised. So dead on time we were ready to take the short journey to Mitai - a Maori village.

The Doorway to the Spirit World

We arrived and are shown to a large waiting area with about 200 other people. Once everyone was ready our host John tells us what is planned for the evening and spends some time finding out what other nationalities the audience had come from. The first part of the evening took us down through a dense forest of palm trees, large ferns and moss covered trees to the Wai o Whiro stream. After a while we saw the “Waka” a hand carved war canoe with Warriors in their traditional dress. We are then shown to a theatre to watch a presentation about Maori culture, dance & music.

We got the chance to see the world famous “Haka” that the New Zealand All Blacks perform before each rugby match and were shown the fighting weapons that were used. The “Haka” translates means breath of fire or Words of Fire. The Pukana is the protruding of the tongue, an act of defence. In the past it said to the enemy “My mouth waters and l lick my lips for soon l will taste your flesh”.
Also another famous part of Maori culture was explained to us. The Moko (Tattoo) is worn by both men and women. On the face of the men 4 birds the Bat, Parrot, Owl and the Kiwi. The women wear the Owl on the chin.

The “Hangi” is a large pit in the earth and has a fire built in the base, once hot they place large rocks on top of the fire and wait for them to get red hot. Once ready Whole Chickens, Racks of Lamb, Sweet Potatoes and Potatoes are placed on top. The pit then is covered with wet sacks and the cooking process takes place. After 3 hours the food inside is perfectly cooked and the group has the best meal so far in New Zealand. The juicy Lamb and chicken was so moist and the potatoes melted away all made complete by salads and hot gravy. This was finished with Fruit Salad, Trifle or Chocolate Log.

To complete the evening we then took a night walk in the Fairy Spring - Te Puna Tapu o Tuhoe. The chief lived in this area. The Fairy people of Mount Ngongotaha visited this spring often thus giving this spring its name. The spring releases over 24 million litres of pure spring water every day.

Surely sitting in a river should be cold?

We leave Rotorua to take a couple of hours drive to Mount Ruapehu. On the way we stop at a river to experience the thermal activity in the area. Within a couple of minutes pulling into a quiet forest car park the group stripped down to their swim ware and are told to sit in the river, so bracing ourselves for more cold water we were amazed that the water was more like bath water and was about 25 - 28 degrees. Not only nice and warm but the hot spring water was filled with loads of minerals and the waterfall nearby gave a much needed back massage as the hot spring water flowed over and the strong downpour massaged the shoulders and back. Even by the banks of the river had something to offer, the dark black mud by the waters edge was rubbed over the body and was just like the mud packs that forms part of the beauty industry. Not wanting to leave this spa in the forest the group finally dried off then continued the journey.

Next stop was the Waikato River system that is the most highly developed for electricity generator in New Zealand. It suppliers eight hydro-electric stations and provides cooling water for two geothermal and one thermal station. This in total provides about 15% of New Zealand’s power.

Haka Falls the unique blue colour of the water is due to the very clear water reflecting blue light. The air bubbles in the water intensify the blue water. The water temperature varies between 22 in the summer and 10 in the water. The volume of water passing over the fall varies between 32 and 270 cubic metres per second.

The weather still has the upper hand

Like most thing in life that we plan to do it sometimes all comes down to the weather. We arrived at Whakapapa (pronounced Fuc-ka-papa ) and the hostel with the most fantastic views of the hills and mountains in the area. But with some many rain clouds and mist all around us, we could not see the main reason for us visit here. So after unpacking our bags for a couple of nights here a few of us went on a 2 hour trek through the woods, hills and Yorkshire Moors like vista. Complete with walking boots and rain coats we walked towards another great waterfall and then across fields filled with heathers and different grasses. With the fine rains it did not take long to get soaking wet and once returned to the hostel a long awaited shower became the order of the day.

Tongariro Crossing and Mount Ruapehu

The Alpine crossing up to the Mountain to see the Soda Springs, Red Crater, Emerald Lakes and the Central Crater is a hard 6 - 8 hours walk. It is also the scenery used in “Lord of the rings” so people from all over the world now come to do this walk, but the weather has to be on your side or the crossing is closed. This is one of the things l now regret not doing as when l awoke the clouds had not moved and rain was all around. So most of the group decided to stay and relax for the day, however about five of the team did leave at 8am to do the trek and when they returned it had all been worth it, as the clouds has disappeared once they reached the summit and gave them the views that they had travelled to see.

The area is a World Heritage Status National Park of unparalleled beauty with views and scenery to leave you spellbound. For the “Lord of the Rings” fans you can walk under Mount Doom and stroll through Occ Country. See Mordor the strong hold of the Dark Lord Sauron. You can also visit Ithilien Camp with beautiful waterfalls and beech forest of Emyn Muil, the Orc Road and Encampment. Along with the Door of Sammath Naur, Barren Waste lands and Sea of Boulders.

Tonight was the first night we had to cook, so the group was split into teams and the first team cooked Bangers and Mash for everyone. This was followed by St Patrick’s night celebrations and for Louise from Ireland this was a great time too.

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Photos

Silver Fern
The top of the fern leaf is green but the underside is silver