Geysers and Mudpots and I'm not
in Yellowstone Anymore!
Yes, it's true. New Zealand has a lot of very Yellowstone-like country. And it smells just the same. Just a few miles outside Rotorua, we visited the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. It is the largest area of the Taupo Volcanic Zone on the surface of the planet.
Our first stop in the preserve was the Lady Knox Geyser.
Billed as one of the most reliable steam vents in the area,
it erupts promptly at 10:15 a.m. every morning, with spouts
to 21 meters (65 feet) in height. Quite by accident, workers
in the area discovered while washing their clothes in the
hot water of the vent, that laundry soap bubbles created the
necessary tension on the top of the water in the vent to
make it blow. At 10 a.m. each morning, 5 lbs. of laundry
soap are dumped in, and poof! The geyser erupts at 10:15
a.m. The cone in the picture is made mostly of water mixed
with soap!
There were too many geothermal wonders in the park to show them all, but here are a few of them.
This
is Thunder Crater, the largest of the craters.
A short walk away is the area called the Artist's Palette.
When you look at the beautiful colors displayed in front of
you, it is easy to see how it was named.
A
little further along we came to a viewpoint where we could
look out onto the area known as Frying Pan Flat. Tiana and I
took a side tour on anothe short trail that led out onto the
flat. Sometimes, I was worried that we might break through
the crust. Compared to Yellowstone, there were very few
man-made walkways.
In
our little tour, Tiana and I got to see the Sulphur Cave.
guess how it smelled.
Then
as we rejoined Terri, Mom and Dad, we got to see Bridal Veil
Falls.
At
the end of our walking tour, we passed the Devil's Bath. It
was too green to be very inviting.
As
we drove from the park we passed an area of grey, bubbling
mud pots. It was fun to try to capture one of the mud
bubbles on camera.
But,
geothermal wonders were not the only things in this part of
New Zealand. Our next stop was at Huka Falls in Wairakei
Park. The falls are just a few miles above Lake Taupo on the
Waikato River.
Then
it was on to the famous Waitomo Glow Worm Caves.
After
a short hike down into and through some parts of the cave,
we took a boat back to the outside, then back to Auckland to
get ready for our vist to the far North.