Quick post about a few stops in the Rotorua area - NZ's geothermal playground.
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A geothermal pool with a pH of 2 |
Rotorua
Rotorua is a pretty town with a lot to offer - it's tidy, relatively wealthy and steeped in fascinating geothermal activity. The news isn't all good- it also stinks... like all the time... think overcooked hard-boiled eggs - not for the faint ofart (see what I did there?) ;)
Because Chelsea's stomach turns at the thought of a sulfur pool, we elected to keep our distance from Rotorua proper - only stopping in briefly for groceries.... I had wanted to checkout it's free geothermal park
Kuirau park, but I was already on thin sulfurous ice as it was, so we skipped it.
Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Park
We went to this park in 2005 and loved it - really active geothermal features that are photogenic and not too sulfurous for Chelsea (Cheryl doesn't love the smell either). It didn't disappoint!
I'll let our pictures do the talking here...
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Champagne pool - always bubbling with tiny bubbles |
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An emerald lake - inhospitable though! |
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Cool sulfur deposits |
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Taking in geothermal bliss |
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Exploding mud bubbles |
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Silty rivers |
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Barren mineral pools |
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Lime-green pool |
All told, the park took about 1.5hrs to tour and photograph. Lady Knox geyser is a bit contrived (they induce it to erupt using a surfactant in front of a crowd of about 250 ppl, daily), but everything else is superb.
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Lady Knox geyser |
Huka Falls
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Thunderous roar! |
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These falls move a massive volume of water through a very narrow channel - they literally roar - not unlike the sound of Niagara Falls. What's neat about them is their turquoise colour and the fact that you can walk right over them on a foot bridge to really appreciate their power.
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Narrow channel. |
Rotorua!!
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