After the visit to the egg city of Rotorua, we were more eager to continue smelling this tufillo from the heart of the earth (or the intestine ...). Actually, if we went to Rotorua it was for only one reason: to visit the Wai-O-Tapu geothermal park. So we say goodbye to our hosts (and their sheep, chickens, horses, cats ...) and set course for one of the hot spots of our trip in New Zealand!
Wai-O-Tapu Park, “sacred waters” is the most colorful thermal park in the entire Taupo region. The large number of colors is due to the mixing of different chemical elements, the predominant ones being:
- Yellow, for sulfur.
- Red, by iron oxide.
- Orange, for antimony
- Black, for sulfur and coal.
- White, for silica.
- Purple, for manganese.
- Green, for arsenic.
Surely any geologist would be passionate about this topic ... we were only happy to see colorful waters and huge holes in the earth ... come on, the craters. The area is full of them, geysers, swimming pools and fumaroles. The volcanic activity in this region dates back about 160,000 years but even today the signs of new escapes are contemplated through which the earth expels its stinky vapor… We are going to see that this is in continuous boiling! Hopefully not give him to hit the father fart!
There are a good handful of interesting points during the trip to the park (don't miss the names, they are the most diabolic), but the ones we liked the most were these:
- Craters: There are several distributed along the road of different colors and sizes, up to 50 meters in diameter and 20 meters deep. Some are "The house of the devil", "The crater of hell" or "The bathroom of the devil", radioactive green, for its high content of arsenic (careful not to trip and fall head first).
- Swimming pools: with its colorful and smoky waters, they do not invite you to take a relaxing bath at all ... The most interesting are "The artist's palette" and the nearby "Champagne Pool", the most spectacular of the park, is the largest of all the enclosure, with 65 meters in diameter and 62 meters deep. The water is at an ideal temperature of 74 degrees (ideal for cooking eggs inside….
- Geysers: which only eruptions in special conditions (come on, which are more fake than Miguel Parada's lips). There are several scattered throughout the enclosure, although the one that is visited for its eruption at 10:15 am is in a separate area.
- Terraces: the “Primrose terraces”, composed of quartz, are the largest in New Zealand, after the destruction, in 1886, of the Pink and White terraces of Mount Tarawera.
- The road, the viewpoints, the forests that are crossed, the bridges and walkways ... everything is requetebonito!
- The place is unique. Volcanic activity has modeled this area for thousands of years, making it a spectacular place, worthy of any science fiction movie.
But, as we said, the visit to the park begins with the exhibition, at 10:15 o'clock, of the Lady Knox geyser, named in honor of Lady Constance Knox, the second daughter of the governor of New Zealand in the early 20th century, Uchter Knox. After the talk of a nice boy, he pours a chemical composition (top secret) to wake up the poor Lady (who was having a tea for those hours) and makes her enraged ... spitting slime and steam up to a height of 20 meters ! It's really nothing "natural", but if you want to see a geyser in action, this is the only way (you can also sit for months and months looking at the same geyser to see if you're lucky ...).
Close by there are the mud pools, lagoons completely filled with mud that farting every few seconds. Fun and disgusting at the same time ...
How much:
Entry costs NZ $ 32.5 and entitles you to visit the park (the three zones) and see the explosion of the geyser, at 10:15 in the morning.
Visit:
Getting to 10 is enough. You buy the entrance in the main area, you return on your steps with the car and take the turnoff to the right towards the geyser. There is the explosion at 10.15. Be on time! Then you return to the main enclosure, where the entrance to the park is. This consists of three parts, the total tour lasts about an hour and a half.
Once the visit is over and back to the car, you can go towards the geyser (you have to pass the turnoff) and take a road to the right towards the mud pools. It's nothing from another world, but the farts that stick are entertaining ...
If we turn around again and pass the park, at the end of the Loop Road and a little before reaching the intersection with the main road there is a bridge. You can park the car and walk on the right to a few pools of hot water. Apparently it is entertaining.
How to get:
From Rotorua it is 30 km (half an hour). You have to continue on the road number 5 towards the south, and when you are approaching, follow the indications and turn it along the Loop Road. On this road you will find these points of interest in this order (which is not the same to make the visit):
- To the left, it diverted to the mud pools
- On the left turn to the geyser (at 10:15 it opens for the show, ask for the park entrance)
- To the right the main parking and the entrance to the enclosure.
- You cross a bridge over a river, which, if you go back to the right, you will find an area for swimming (we did not go but they advised us).
