Wairakei Terrace Walk

The next few posts I will write will be about Patty's and my trip to Rotorua last weekend. Patty is now off doing a bit more Helpx-ing for the next few weeks, before leaving NZ. Luckily for me, I still have plenty of catching up to do, because we saw so much on our short weekend to Rotorua. I am learning that Rotorua is like that.

On our way to Rotorua (and actually closer to Lake Taupo), we stopped at a little place called Wairakei Terraces (and Thermal Health Spa). We had gotten a discount on the entry fee on Grabone, which is nice, and I was also glad to go somewhere I hadn't gone with J on our trip to Rotorua last year.

Wairakei Terrace Walk is a lovely little loop, along which you can see many interesting geothermal sites, as well as learn about tikanga (culture) Māori. 

The terraces themselves are hard to see, due to the clouds of steam pouring out of the earth. Also, please note that the water looked much bluer in real life.

Anyway, these particular terraces have a foundation that is man-made, which guided the shape. They are now covered with natural silica deposits from the water bubbling up. Do you remember the pink and white terraces from my post about the Buried Village (last July)? Well, they had naturally formed in this beautiful shape, but since they were tragically lost in an earthquake (in 1886), these ones were made to emulate them. I know that it's nothing in comparison, but I was still glad to see their best effort.

My favourite fact about this area: 

"During times of intertribal warfare, the Waiora (Healthy Waters) Valley was considered a 'no war' zone where warriors from other tribes were permitted to bathe in a series of hot pools of varying temperatures, which were positioned along the stream. This allowed their wounds to heal and greatly assisted the rejuvenation of the mind, body and soul." (Quoted from our guide map)

This is just a simple bench area, but I love it because it is made out of ponga (fern trees), so the walls are growing new fern fronds all the time. I love the whole concept of living architecture!

Near the end of the walkway, we came across this carving, which we thought was pretty cool. What you can't tell in the picture is that the statue is twice as tall as I am, which makes it very imposing!

This is Ngatoroirangi, the powerful Tohunga and great navigator. Here is the story:

"After his long journey from Hawaiki, he landed at Maketu and made his way inland, looking for a place to settle. In order to claim the lands of Mount Tongariro, Ngatoroirangi had to be the first to stand on the summit. While atop the mountain, a southerly wind whipped his face, icy gales chiseled the warmth from his body while the frozen volcano cut painfully into his feet. As he lay dying, he called to his sisters Kuiwai and Haungaroa in Hawaiki to send fire to warm him. They dispatched the heat with the fire gods Te Pupu and Te Hoata. As they travelled beneath sea and land on their journey to the mountain peaks, they surfaced at White Island, Rotorua, Orakei Korako and here at Wairakei, sending spontaneous bursts of steam and billowing clouds skyward, testifying to the pent up energy beneath the earth, in the world Ruaumoko, guardian of volocanoes." (Quoted from our guide map)

At the end of the loop, we got to see the other side of the terrace area. At the top is a rather large and very enthusiastic geyser, which is hard to see because of the billowing steam it creates. If you look at the top of the steam near the middle of the picture, you'll see a splash of water shooting out the top. That was my best effort to capture it in a photo, and it does not do justice to the roiling, active water you see in real life.

Stay tuned for more pictures of our trip to Rotorua in the coming weeks.