The drive from Ohiwa to Auckland should take about four hours but we’d decided to overnight somewhere on the way and visit Rotorua en route. We left Ohiwa with reluctance (there seems to be a common theme here!) and drove the two hours to the Waiotapu geothermal park, just outside of Rotorua.
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Waiotapu is a lot more touristy than Craters of the Moon but probably a better experience and this is reflected in the entrance fee. The various pools had great names like ‘The Devils Inkpots’
and ‘Champagne Pool’
because it has loads of little bubble trickling their way up from the depths
The Champagne Pool has a crusty border that somehow holds all the bubbly water in and around the edge is this fantastic rusty orange colour that reminded me of scallop roe.
It was difficult to get a decent photo though
as we kept getting steamed out and one or both of us would emerge coughing, eyes squeezed closed. That’s Euan with his back to the steam off to the right.
The colour of the sulphur was fantastic
and this was a mini Pamukkale with loads of little ridges that the water trickled over for a good 100m plus.
Now, this pool was incredible. It looked like someone had dumped bottles and bottles of the most lurid-coloured lime cordial in it but do you think we could get the colour to come out in the photos? No way. Gutted.
Euan left a bit disappointed as he’d wanted to see boiling mud but no mud was being boiled that day. We headed off then came across a sign that said ‘Mud Pools’ so we hooned off for a look and there it was!! This looks pretty tame but
it was quite lively, with mud erupting out of nowhere every few seconds
Some were violent explosions, mostly from under water
but in where the mud was thicker and there was no water, the mud just gently plopped like porridge does when cooking it on a stove.
It was almost cute!
and we just couldn’t stop taking photos! Each one was different and there was always a different explosion to capture
It was a bit random but so fun to watch. We dragged ourselves away and did something that no self-respecting kiwi girl who had had anything to do with farming would do… we went to the Agrodome to watch the ‘Sheep Show’. Yes, we did. I crept in, head down hoping like hell that none of my university class mates had wound up on stage as a 'show' shearer. Anyhow, I soon forgot that when I saw the 19 champion rams of all different breeds. Euan even got up close and personal with the Merino who, even though he is on a platform, was massive, wrinkly and very placid.
It was actually really good, albeit aimed squarely at tourists. Each ram was introduced, we were told a bit about the breed, what they’re used for etc and the rams would trot to their place and get chained there. There was a bit of a hoohah with them eating each other’s food and having fisty cuffs but that only added to the amusement. One of them didn’t want to wait for his turn and just jumped out and ran to his place while another was still being talked about.
What was funny was that when they’d finished eating, they lay down and went to sleep! The Romney in the top left was the worst. He was dead to the world and took some waking up.
Euan finally got to see a sheep being shorn. I had been looking out for shearing gangs at the shearing sheds we’d passed but we didn't see any sheep in the yards to be shorn. When I mentioned to Brig that we were going to the Agrodome she’d said we should have told her earlier as she had 30 sheep that she needed to shear and Euan could have helped. A missed opportunity for sure.
There was a funny moment when five kids from other countries got up on stage and were given bottles of milk (with teats) and the shearer said (jokingly) “one, two, three drink” and all five put the teats in the mouth and drank! I don’t think the chap thought they’d do it. Anyhow, the next moment, five hungry lambs bombarded the kids, bunting and squabbling over the bottles. The look on these kids faces, who’d probably never ever got to even touch a sheep, was absolutely priceless.
It was quite interesting for to see who goes to these sorts of things. There were people from Uganda, Tanzinia, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, India, China, Japan, Trinidad and the list went on. There were only about 3 Kiwis in the audience I noted…..
Next stop was Rotorua – a geothermal area and you can smell the sulphur in the air. The open park areas around the town can be dangerous and many parts are fenced off
to avoid people wandering into things like this but occasionally it does happen and someone wanders off and dies from falling in.
We made our way northwards that night and stayed in an area I’ve always driven through but never stopped at in the Karangahake Gorge. Karangahake is an old mining town from the 1800’s. It’s a nice place with some fantastic walks through the remnants of the old mining village and it was once home to 3000 people. Now there are only a handful of houses left there and most traffic seems to pass on through.
While neither Euan or I are twitchers, but this bird has kept us entertained throughout our time here. It’s called a Tui and it's native to NZ. I never paid much attention to it previously, it was just part of the furniture (so to speak), but I've been absolutely enchanted by it this time round.
The noises Tuis make are hugely variable, different to each individual and the fact they have two voice boxes enables them to create a huge range of sound, some beyond the human register. Among the more musical notes are clicks, cackles, timber-like creaks, knocks and wheezing sounds. At the risk of being a bird geek, I found this clip on YouTube that is far better than my description!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNgwehRPiPo&NR=1
View Larger Map
Waiotapu is a lot more touristy than Craters of the Moon but probably a better experience and this is reflected in the entrance fee. The various pools had great names like ‘The Devils Inkpots’
and ‘Champagne Pool’
because it has loads of little bubble trickling their way up from the depths
The Champagne Pool has a crusty border that somehow holds all the bubbly water in and around the edge is this fantastic rusty orange colour that reminded me of scallop roe.
It was difficult to get a decent photo though
as we kept getting steamed out and one or both of us would emerge coughing, eyes squeezed closed. That’s Euan with his back to the steam off to the right.
The colour of the sulphur was fantastic
and this was a mini Pamukkale with loads of little ridges that the water trickled over for a good 100m plus.
Now, this pool was incredible. It looked like someone had dumped bottles and bottles of the most lurid-coloured lime cordial in it but do you think we could get the colour to come out in the photos? No way. Gutted.
Euan left a bit disappointed as he’d wanted to see boiling mud but no mud was being boiled that day. We headed off then came across a sign that said ‘Mud Pools’ so we hooned off for a look and there it was!! This looks pretty tame but
it was quite lively, with mud erupting out of nowhere every few seconds
Some were violent explosions, mostly from under water
but in where the mud was thicker and there was no water, the mud just gently plopped like porridge does when cooking it on a stove.
It was almost cute!
and we just couldn’t stop taking photos! Each one was different and there was always a different explosion to capture
It was a bit random but so fun to watch. We dragged ourselves away and did something that no self-respecting kiwi girl who had had anything to do with farming would do… we went to the Agrodome to watch the ‘Sheep Show’. Yes, we did. I crept in, head down hoping like hell that none of my university class mates had wound up on stage as a 'show' shearer. Anyhow, I soon forgot that when I saw the 19 champion rams of all different breeds. Euan even got up close and personal with the Merino who, even though he is on a platform, was massive, wrinkly and very placid.
It was actually really good, albeit aimed squarely at tourists. Each ram was introduced, we were told a bit about the breed, what they’re used for etc and the rams would trot to their place and get chained there. There was a bit of a hoohah with them eating each other’s food and having fisty cuffs but that only added to the amusement. One of them didn’t want to wait for his turn and just jumped out and ran to his place while another was still being talked about.
What was funny was that when they’d finished eating, they lay down and went to sleep! The Romney in the top left was the worst. He was dead to the world and took some waking up.
Euan finally got to see a sheep being shorn. I had been looking out for shearing gangs at the shearing sheds we’d passed but we didn't see any sheep in the yards to be shorn. When I mentioned to Brig that we were going to the Agrodome she’d said we should have told her earlier as she had 30 sheep that she needed to shear and Euan could have helped. A missed opportunity for sure.
There was a funny moment when five kids from other countries got up on stage and were given bottles of milk (with teats) and the shearer said (jokingly) “one, two, three drink” and all five put the teats in the mouth and drank! I don’t think the chap thought they’d do it. Anyhow, the next moment, five hungry lambs bombarded the kids, bunting and squabbling over the bottles. The look on these kids faces, who’d probably never ever got to even touch a sheep, was absolutely priceless.
It was quite interesting for to see who goes to these sorts of things. There were people from Uganda, Tanzinia, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, India, China, Japan, Trinidad and the list went on. There were only about 3 Kiwis in the audience I noted…..
Next stop was Rotorua – a geothermal area and you can smell the sulphur in the air. The open park areas around the town can be dangerous and many parts are fenced off
to avoid people wandering into things like this but occasionally it does happen and someone wanders off and dies from falling in.
We made our way northwards that night and stayed in an area I’ve always driven through but never stopped at in the Karangahake Gorge. Karangahake is an old mining town from the 1800’s. It’s a nice place with some fantastic walks through the remnants of the old mining village and it was once home to 3000 people. Now there are only a handful of houses left there and most traffic seems to pass on through.
While neither Euan or I are twitchers, but this bird has kept us entertained throughout our time here. It’s called a Tui and it's native to NZ. I never paid much attention to it previously, it was just part of the furniture (so to speak), but I've been absolutely enchanted by it this time round.
The noises Tuis make are hugely variable, different to each individual and the fact they have two voice boxes enables them to create a huge range of sound, some beyond the human register. Among the more musical notes are clicks, cackles, timber-like creaks, knocks and wheezing sounds. At the risk of being a bird geek, I found this clip on YouTube that is far better than my description!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNgwehRPiPo&NR=1
We spent the evening sitting on a rock in the river having a few beers and watching the trout (and listening to the Tuis!).
It was a pleasant place to stay and a good stopover point on our way to Auckland, about two hours drive away.
It was a pleasant place to stay and a good stopover point on our way to Auckland, about two hours drive away.
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