Otherworldly Rotorua Landscape

Rotorua

Population-wise Rotorua is a big city (over 70,000 or so).  We were advised it might seem overly commercial for our liking, but we wanted to experience the often talked about geothermal area that’s still bubbling, spouting and boiling away.  The area is also very special in Maori history, and today there are many cultural performances and local artisans to check out as well.  We decided to look around on our own rather than sign on for a concert or hangi (a traditional Maori feast) that evening.

Craters of the Moon

On the drive from Taupo, we stopped for a walk around Craters of the Moon thermal area, part of Wairakei, the largest geothermal field in New Zealand within the Taupō Volcanic Zone. The area appeared in the 1950s after a nearby power station changed the underground water levels.  Less water in the heated underground spaces meant boiling, erosion and collapses that are still constantly changing.  There are a number of craters (last big eruption was in 2002), mud pools and steam vents.  The effect was more dramatic than usual, since it was a rainy, misty day.

Carving at Rotorua Museum

Rotorua Museum

After a brief stop at Te Puia (a Māori cultural centre) and a drive-by of Te Wairoa (a village buried after the eruption of Mt. Tarawera in 1886, a blast that resulted in the covering over of the legendary Pink and White Terraces by water), we ended up at the Rotorua Museum.  The museum is housed in a former Bath House building.  One side has original and renovated baths, showing the history and details of how people came from all over the world to “Take the Cure” hoping to get rid of all kinds of ailments.  Some of the treatments they offered in mud and mineral baths seem crazy now, but people, even doctors, apparently swore by them.  It was also interesting to be able to go down into the basement and up into the attic to see the inner workings of the building.  It seems there’s a lot more planned for this side.

The other side of the building has an exhibit about the eruption of Mt. Tarawera with survivor stories as well as lots of details about what the area was like as a tourist destination before the eruption, when people were taken by local guides to see and bathe in the Pink and White Terraces.  There is also a wing of the museum with the history of the B Company 28 Maori Battalion of WWII.  The final wing holds many taonga (treasures) of the Te Arawa and other Maori people. There are tales of great leaders and legendary figures from early beginnings until modern times along with carvings in wood, bone and jade/greenstone, a massive canoe, doorways and pieces from meeting houses and other buildings, photographs, etc.  My favorite part was called “Precious Women” and featured photos and stories of the female guides to the terraces.  This was an especially good, informative exhibit.

In the late afternoon we had a walk around the public park in the middle of the city, filled with more bubbling mud and steaming ponds.  There was even an area set aside to soak your feet!  Of course we took advantage of that before continuing on our way.

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