Journal day 77 - Maori Rock carvings of Lake Taupo.

---

Kayaking around the Taupo lake rock carvings.
Kayaked right up to the large 10metre high Maori Rockface carvings. Very impressive.
The carvings were created by sculptor Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell in the 70's on the area called Mine Bay. They are only accessible by boat or kayak.
The large face represents the great Maori navigator Ngatoroirangi who was meant to have brought tribes to the Taupo region a thousand years ago.

There are also some smaller carvings by Matahi and some local sculptor students on the rocks to the left of the main rock face carving. Many sculptures depicting a big lizard and many figures from Maori legends. Amongst then are also a few Celtic patterns showing a mermaid and the face of the southerly wind.

Taupo very large lake 238 square miles. The lake is a caldera which was completely created by a super volcanic eruption 26,500 years ago that caused the ground to collapse. The initial eruption is kown as the Oruanui eruption and it sent up so much rock and ground material into the atmosphere that the surrounding land collapsed to create the lake which filled with water over the following centuries.

Most recent eruption was in 180 CE apparently turned the sky red in China and Rome and is one of the largest eruptions in recorded history.

The lake is apparently the same size as Singapore.
Population of Singapore is nearly 5,000,000.
Population of all of New Zealand is 4,315,800...... Crazy...!

Pics: Taupo

---