Leaving Taupo...onto Rotorua

Before hitting the road to Rotorua we called in at the Buried Village where a violent and unexpected volcanic eruption of Mount Tarawera during the early hours of June 10, 1886, was New Zealand's greatest natural disaster. Over 150 people died during which for 4 hours, rocks, ash and mud bombarded the peaceful village of Te Wairoa. As well as the ending of so many lives and livelihoods, the eruption destroyed what was known as the eighth wonder of the world - the magnificent Pink and White Terraces , and buried the staging post for travellers from around the world to the Terraces. These Terraces were obviously so special, as people travelled from around the world to see them - normally taking 3 months for a return trip from the UK. The Maories quickly learned the art of tourism and free market economy and were making about £7000 pa for their village from visiting Victorians...imagine the horror when it all blew up and got buried, sadly with such loss of life too.

view from the landing..where we had lunch

Lake Tarawera, with Mount Tarawera in the background, 7 or 8 volcanoes which split the mountain and re shaped the valleys and lakes

We decided to call into Orakei Korako Thermal Park en route from Lake Taupo to our 2 night stay in Rotorua. The Lonely Planet Guide states that this is possibly the best thermal area left in NZ and one of the finest in the world. Access to the hidden valley is by a short ferry trip across Lake Ohakuri. Orakei Koraka (in english means "place of adorning") has remained completely unchanged for thousands of years. 20 million litres of hot water flow over silica terraces every day. ...but boy! was it hot there?

Known as the hidden valley and only accessible by a small chugging ferry ( 5minute crossing) it looked foreboding from the other side!

the short crossing

on the other side..with the ferry returning in the background

guyser (not Frank)spewing out of the terrace in the background

some welcome shade

After returning to the mainland it was time to set off to Rotorua with yours truly driving. We were reliably informed by a local Kiwi that it should be a 45 minute drive....not for the first time 45 minutes equated to two hours...never trust a Kiwi to give you an accurate forecast of time over distance. Trusting our knowledge we ended up running for an hour on petrol fumes from the tank which was empty..and all the filling stations were closed up and now just shops or derelict. So with stiff thigh and calf muscles from all the steps and walking we retired to the MPV and air con. I reckon that this was our hottest and most humid experience of the holiday.

Gentle "Rubber Duckie" cruise...my arse!!

Before my sis in law waxes lyrical about the cruise around the bays when we stayed at Hot Water beach, I thought I'd let you see what a "gentle, slow, calm cruise" -which we'd promised -that it was!! At several points I really thought we were going downhill...Marg was all drugged up with her sea leg quells that she laughed all the way through it...but it was fun! Best of all I think we're going to feature in the new advertising brochure.

From Auckland to Lake Taupo

We met up at the airport with Frank and Liz, picked up the MPV people carrier, and set off on the 4.5 hour drive to Lake Taupo, with me kicking off the driving stint and Frank ably navigating us onto the highway. En route we stopped off for lunch at Tirau -a very interesting place with a penchant for oversized corrugated tin sculptures (don't ask?). This was about mid point on our journey and Frank took over driving duties down to Lake Taupo which is 1.5 times the size of Singapore!

The accommodation was plush, in a perfect location with great views over the lake. After taking stock of our next day's activities we decided that a trip to Huka falls was a must (which meant a motor launch up to the falls themselves), as was seeing the Arataratia rapid's dam being opened...from the safety of the viewing bridge of course. Next up an interesting, wet but very warm walk around "craters of the moon" -hot springs, mud pools and guysers, before signing off with another cruise -this time a 2 hour trip around the Lake to see the Maori rock sculptures. Our boat -the Ernest Kemp -was a steam boat replica with a rounded hull, which would have been very unforgiving in choppy waters -thankfully all was calm!

Craters of the moon.........very spooky........wet and steamy.....

..then onto our cruise of the Lake...no other takers, just us and the booze cabinet

Back in the UK at last

Hi, well we arrived back this morning..good flights and no problems, with the booked car waiting to get us home from Manchester airport.
As I have a load of CDs to check out before posting some more pics on the blog, check out Liz's blog again because she's been slogging away in an internet cafe on her laptop!!

http://lanfwroe.blogspot.com/2009/03/auckland-to-taupo.html

From Auckland to Lake Taupo, then to Rotorua before chillin' out at hot water beach on the Caromandel peninsula..it's been quite a hectic week packed with boat trips and plenty of thermals and guysers in this area steeped with volcanic activity...