7 km away from flowing magma

I finally left Paihia and travelled a full day (8 hours) to Rotorua. Around Rotorua there is lots of geothermal activity. There are many active volcanoes, including Mount Tarawera and Rainbow Mountain. Apparently, I am only 7 kilometers away from flowing magma under the Earth's crust, whereas most places around the world are at least 30 kilometers away.

I went on a tour of two geothermal valleys. The first was called Wai-o-Taupo, which means 'sacred waters'. On the way out there I passed through a place called Earthquake Valley. This is where the Indo-Australian and Pacific tectonic plates meet. I got to see Lady Knox Geyser, which is actually quite pathetic. It was discovered by a Maori who set off to bathe in the hot pools, when he accidentally dropped his soap in Lady Knox (soap was received from the Europeans). To his suprise Lady Knox 'erupted' and shot out water into the air. So, in order for her to blow, she needs to be provoked.

The actual geothermal park of Wai-o-Taupo was much more interesting. I got to see boiling mud pools, natural hot springs and steaming mountain-sides. Some of the hot springs there reached 200 degrees celcius!

The geothermal park of Waimangu was similar to Wai-o-Taupo except it had more to offer. It was an hour and a half walk along a track, which had 32 stops where you could look out onto the colourful array of hot pools and the like.

The following day I headed out to a buried village called Te Wairoa. It was buried with the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886. Not only did this volcano kill at least 150 people, it also destroyed the 8th wonder of the world, The Pink and White Terraces.

Later that evening I went on a tour to the Mitai Village, which is a current Maori tribe in the Rotorua area. They performed for us and taught us about their culture and then eventually fed us a really good meal, called the Hangi. A hangi is a meal that is prepared in the Earth, due to all of the geothermal activity. It takes at least 4-6 hours to cook. They had chicken and lamb, as well as kumara which is their sweet potato. It was very delicious.

After that I was guided through the Rainbow Springs night tour. I got to see glow-worms, Kiwi's, Kea birds, Tuatara lizards, and lots of trout that are bred on site.

The glow-worm is actually a bug that is in its larval stage. It lives in a silk sheath and when it moves back and forth within this sheath, it produces light.

The Kiwi bird is the only bird in NZ that is flightless. It is endemic to NZ and is highly endangered. The females are larger than the males and they also have a curved beak instead of the straight pointed beak that the males have. The male also is in charge of incubating the eggs for at least 70-90 days. They are omnivorous and eat berries, roots, worms and bugs.

The Kea parrot is a grey and yellow bird and is also endangered in NZ because of poaching. They are considered sheep killers because they peck at the sheep's kidney area which causes them to eventually come down with disease and die. However, they are considered to be as smart as Gibbon monkeys or dogs.

I am currently in Waitomo, where there are lots of caves to explore. I'll keep you updated in the weeks to come.