Walking in a Thermal Wonderland

"What time does the volcano go off?" - visiting tourist

(If you've been following this blog, look back at past entries--some photos have been added. I'll be posting a link to the full album in the near future.)

One of the most anticipated stops on our trip was the town of Rotorua, and the nearby Wai-O-Tapu thermal "wonderland."

But before we reached there, the ship had a day at sea, which produced its own thermal surprise. We passed White Island, a small, privately-owned island that contains New Zealand's only active volcano. It was a slightly overcast day; perfect for volcano viewing. On this day, the volcano was fairly lively, producing considerable mist as well as pools of ooze that could be seen from the ship with binoculars. There was also a shelf of white that we at first thought was produced by the volcano. But, no, on closer inspection it proved to be a nest of many thousands of gannets--birds we'd viewed earlier (and discussed in an earlier blog). The ship circled this island for a while to give us all a view, then pushed off to more thermal activity.

The town of Rotorua boasts the Wai-O-Tapu park, New Zealand's answer to Yellowstone. We first saw a geyser spew. Unfortunately, it is not one of the those great wonders where you have to be in the right place at the right time. Each day, precisely at 10:15 am, they seed the geyser with something akin to soap powder to force it to spew. It's an impressive sight, but still carries that tinge of inauthenticity even though it is a legitimate geyser.

But the rest of the park was the real deal. Smoke vents, boiling mud pools, sulphur streams, and the inevitable smell dotted the walks around the park. At the center was a giant sulphur lake, full of weird arrays of color and a hot and smelly breeze. There also was a beautiful pool of a lime green shade. All things nature creates in its most uneasy atmosphere.

That day also brought a visit to a wildlife park. Unlike Australia, New Zealand's wildlife is less of the mammal variety (unless you count sheep, which are hardly wild), and more of the bird and reptile family. That was reflected in this park, as we saw a variety of birds and reptiles (but, thankfully, no snakes). The highlight was seeing the elusive kiwi bird, the national bird that is in danger of extinction.

From there we rode yes another gondola to yes another fantastic view. Two in our party (not me, I assure you) took the occasion of being on the top of a mountain to ride a giant swing attached by bungy cords. Not as daring as bungy jumping, but not for the faint of heart either. Apparently, the specialty of NZ is for people to hurl themselves off tall buildings and cliffs in rather shaky apparatus. Hmmmmm.

Next: Auckland