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Published: December 13th 2009
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Lady Knox Geyser
No Jude, Glynn's a geezer not a geyser! No trip to Rotorua is complete without a visit to a geothermal park - after all, that is what the city is most famous for. On previous visits, we have been to Kuirau Park where you can see examples of bubbling mud pools and steaming hot lakes all free of charge. Today we decided to head over to one of the 'pay to view' parks to see what sights a bit of money gets you.
We made our way to Wai-O-Tapu (which means Sacred Water in Maori) and arrived just in time to see the Lady Knox geyser erupt. This happens every day at 10.15am but it's a bit chaotic as everyone has to park up and buy a ticket at the Wai-O-Tapu park entrance, then jump in their cars and drive about 3 minutes back the way they came, park up again and head to the viewing area on foot. We almost didn't go as there were just so many cars and people milling about but I'm glad we did.
The geyser apparently erupts roughly every 24 hours if left to its own devices, however as the time of a natural eruption can vary quite a lot, the
Lady Knox Geyser
Insert soap crystals here and then back the f**k away! geyser is coerced into erupting to a set schedule by a staff member pouring soap crystals into the spout. After a brief speech about the history of the geyser and how it got its name, we started to see some bubbles foaming at the mouth of the geyser. Gradually, the force behind the bubbles seemed to build up until eventually huge jets of water, steam and soap were released upwards in quite a magnificent display of nature's power.
Back at the main entrance, Glynn and I chose to explore Wai-O-Tapu's landscape by heading in the opposite direction to everyone else. Our first stop was at the Devil's Bath Tub, a lurid lime green coloured pool of sulphurous water that smelled really quite nasty. One of the park's most popular attractions is the Champagne Pool, a large bluey-green lake edged with a bright orange tinge. The lake gets its name from the millions of little bubbles constantly rising up to the surface, giving the appearance of champagne. Judging by the heat and smell of this lake however, you definitely wouldn't want to drink any of it! The orange border is formed by a type of algae that likes to breed
Lady Knox Geyser
Wait for it..... in this inhospitable environment, which once again makes me marvel at nature's abaility to create life where no life has any business existing.
What I particularly enjoyed about this geothermal park was the variety of colours and textures to be found throughout the area. I can imagine that the first visitors to this area would have truly believed they had arrived at the gates of Hell based on the smell and broken, steaming earth at their feet. As we walked around, we saw giant ferocious boiling mud pools sunk deep into the unstable ground beneath our feet. There was a gentle cascade of cool water that had left rippled silvery limestone deposits across a vast area. From a distance this looked quite dull and grey but close up was really quite shimmery and pretty. Then there was the Oyster Pool, an immensely deep turquoise pond in the middle of a seemingly safe looking patch of ground. We also discovered a small waterfall feeding a beautiful bright blue lake, a big yellow donut shaped pool of boiling goo and many more weird and wonderful natural phenomenon. We easily spent the best part of 2 hours marvelling at the sights and
Lady Knox Geyser
There she blows! recoiling from the rotten egg smells at Wai-O-Tapu. The $30 entrance fee was well worth it.
Not far from the park is another natural wonder and one of our favourite places in all of New Zealand - Kerosene Creek. You may remember the hot river with its 2 metre high waterfall that we went to on our travels and visited again with Margaret and Kev in October last year. Since then we heard rumours that it might have been developed as a tourist attraction and would no longer be free to the public. Thankfully the rumours proved unfounded. The car park looked busier than on previous visits but when we ambled down to the river's edge, it was just us and a trio of young men who were in the process of packing up to leave. We wasted no time dunking ourselves into the hot pool by the waterfall and letting the geothermal waters wash away any stresses and strains. There are many people who travel a long way to visit Rotorua's public bathing areas as it's claimed to relieve Arthritis, Rheumatism and general joint aches and pains. I for one always feel rejuvenated after a nice long soak
Lady Knox Geyser
Let's add some people for a bit of scale! and I remember my uncle Kev saying that he didn't suffer with his chronic back pain for 3 days after visiting Kerosene Creek.
The weather forecast for today had not been too good and as we left the hot river, the heavens opened. We had been thinking about a round of mini-golf or visiting one of the animal parks this afternoon but doing so in the rain didn't hold much appeal. Instead, we drove back to the house and spent a quiet afternoon relaxing and listening as the rain got heavier and heavier outside.
In the evening, we treated ourselves to a meal in a local Mexican restaurant. I couldn't resist ordering a margherita although I have a very low tolerance for tequila and quickly felt it going to my head! Glynn got himself a bottle of Pale Ale and seemed to enjoy every drop of it. We ate way too much but enjoyed our belated anniversary meal marking 5 years since we first met. Happy Anniversary to us!
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