Government Gardens and Geothermal Activity

After spending a few wonderful hours in the Rotorua Museum of Art and History, I went back to wandering through Government Gardens. The entire area is a hotbed of geothermal activity. One of the main tourist attractions in the 19th century was the Pink and White Terraces, formed by geysers on the edge of nearby Lake Rotomahana. Visitors could bathe in the pools formed by the terraces, and it was apparently stunningly beautiful. European tourists would explore the area lead by Māori guides. In early June 1886, a group of tourists and their Māori guides were out on the lake in a boat when they all reported seeing a Māori waka (war boat) full of warriors in traditional dress, the likes of which hadn't been seen on that lake in a generation. This sighting is now regarded as a warning, as on June 10, 1886, nearby Mount Tarawera erupted, destroying the Terraces and the surrounding villages of Moura, Te Ariki, Te Tapahoro, Te Wairoa, Totarariki, and Waingongogo and killing 150 people.

There are geysers, hot springs, and bubbling mud all over the region. The following examples are from the lakeside behind the museum. This is called Camerons Laughing Gas Pool (or the White Sulphur Bath), as the mix of hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide has a very similar effect as nitrous oxide. This was one of the first pools to be used by Europeans, though the water was pumped from the pool into a wooden structure nearby, to mitigate the effects of a gas that caused uncontrollable laughing fits and/or fainting spells, which are, of course, always a great mix when bathing.

Another pool a little farther on. Parts of Rotorua can have that wonderfully distinct sulfur smell, though for the most part it wasn't terribly bad.

The ground is not particularly stable on this side of the lake, and visitors are cautioned to stay on the path. Or else. But the birds don't seem to mind.

Back in the gardens, I found a few more Pukēko, this time of the adult variety.

It was spring, at the soil here is quite rich. I found some lovely iris (my favorite flower!).

This grand sculpture, Waitūkei, was nearby. It was unveiled in 2001, and the creator, Rotorua local artist and master carver Lyonel Grant, says he drew inspiration from the region's melding of Māori and European cultures.

I rounded out my visit with a wander through the rose garden. It's hard to see scale in these photos, but many of those roses are the size of my face.

That evening I came back into town for the Matariki Hāngi and Cultural Performance. Hāngi is the Māori word for a meal cooked by digging a pit, lighting a fire, laying down stones, putting baskets of food on top of the food, then covering the whole thing with dirt to cook for a few hours. Similar methods have been used by many cultures throughout the world, but the Rotorua has a bit of a twist - since there are so many volcanic vents around, there's no need for the fire or the stones. Meals can be cooked entirely by volcanic steam, which means that everything is always nice and moist and delicious. There was a very impressive buffet spread of local delicacies, much of which was cooked in a pit outside that's always a convenient (if, by me, forgotten) temperature. I sat at a table with an interesting array of people, a couple from Australia (though she was originally from the States) and their adorable two-year-old daughter, a couple from Germany, and a couple from France. The French couple was glad to be out, as they had had a particularly eventful few days. They had come to New Zealand for a three-week holiday, but a few days into it he had a stroke and ended up in the hospital. Shortly after that, they received word that they had a new grandchild back in France, then spent a tense few days checking in with family in Paris after the November attacks. The hospital had released him for that evening only, and then they were due to fly back to France in the next few days. He stood as the audience's "chief" during the traditional welcome pōwhiri at the start of the cultural performance. It was beautiful. And a nice reminder that you never know what life is going to bring, despite your best laid plans.

Tune in next time for more from Rotorua, including more geothermal wonders and a tour through Whakarewaewa, a living Māori village. Unless life has other things in store.

Rotorua Musuem

Rotorua has been a tourist destination since humanity discovered New Zealand. Because of my late arrival, the first night I didn't have much time to do anything beyond going into town and grabbing some dinner. Twilight over the lake was quite lovely, though I'm sad this picture turned out a bit blurry.

The next morning I wandered into town to explore and found my way to a park called Government Gardens, which is the site of, well, gardens - also geothermal activity, hot springs, and a grand old building that used to be a spa and is now a museum. The park was quite lovely. The land on which the park stands was gifted by the local Māori tribe in 1880, with the stipulation that the thermal pools be set aside “Hei oranga mō ngā iwi katoa o te Ao” – for the benefit of the people of the world.

There were a few juvenile Pukēko wandering the grounds near the entrance.

There are quite a few thermal pools in the area, this is Whangapīpiro, also known as the Rachel Pool. The water is alkaline and reaches a temperature of 212F (100C). It became known as the Rachel Pool after an English cosmetician (Madam Rachel) promised people that the silica in the water would soften skin and keep them young. Water from this pool has been pumped to various spas over the years, and you can still bathe in it at the nearby Polynesian Spa.

This is the Rotorua Museum, which used to be a spa and bath houses. The wing on the right is devoted to Māori history and the history of the area, as well as art galleries. There was a touring exhibition in the other wing, but it was not yet open. There are also parts of the building devoted to its history as a bath house, and visitors can travel to the basement to see some of the old piping (it is noticeably warmer down there, due to geothermal activity).

You can also go up to a viewing platform on the roof (which can be seen on the left wing in the picture above). This is the view north toward the lake.

And the view west toward town.

East, toward more of the lake.

And south, toward, um, the rest of the building.

I did really like the Tudor style. Construction on the bath house started in 1906 and was completed in 1908. Sadly, the builders didn't know how to counteract the effects of sulfur and acidic steam on the building, so it was plagued with maintenance problems from day one. It did stay open as a spa until 1966. The museum and art gallery opened in 1969, and from 1977 to 1990, there was a night club at the top of the grand staircase in the center.

It's a grand old building, and I'm glad that the city of Rotorua continues to maintain this building as part of their history rather than tearing it down.

Kauri Museum

My host in Raglan had recommended that I visit the Kauri Museum, but with another long day of driving (with a stop in Auckland to address an issue with my rental car), I wasn't planning on making a detour - that is, until there was an accident on the highway around the same time that I came to the turnoff for the museum, and since I was delayed anyway, why not? I'm very glad I did, as the museum was fabulous.

Kauri are a massive native New Zealand tree that are quite long lived and grow to immense size. Kauri wood is renowned for its beauty, and the gum from Kauri trees is similar to amber in consistency and color (I don't have any pictures of the Kauri gum, but it is lovely if you want to look it up).

There wasn't a way to get the entire plank in shot, but here's an idea of how big Kauri can get and how beautiful it can be - even after having been buried in a swamp for a few millennia.

If you can't read the captions, this particular Kauri started as a seedling in the year 1100. It was cut down in 1960. I don't remember the exact dimensions, so I'll settle for a measurement of "much bigger than me."

There were quite a few exhibits detailing the evolution of the logging industry, culminating in this sawmill, which is complete with working parts. It reminded me of the High Desert Museum near where I lived in Oregon. In the background, there's a two-story replica of an early 20th century boarding house, as it would have looked during the height of the Kauri trade.

This boardroom table is carved from a single slab. It is 15 feet (4.57 meters) long, and it is 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 meters) on one end, widening to 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 meters) at the other. It weighs more than one ton and has a steel supporting frame.

There were a great deal of excellent examples of furniture built from Kauri wood, the first picture is of one that was commissioned for a hotel in 1898, and later spent some time at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel (where I had been the previous day) before coming to the museum.

This shoe is carved from a single piece of wood.

The gift shop also had an impressive array of local artisans' work, which made me the tiniest bit homesick to think of my Dad and the wonderful wood turning he does.

The museum has some gorgeous pieces and great educational displays, but my hands down favorite part was the mannequins that are scattered throughout the buildings in various poses or in dioramas. Every single mannequin in the museum is modeled on an actual person, descendants of the original settlers of the town. This fabulously creepy hallway o' dioramas got even better when I learned this - though I do think that this is a cool and unique way to celebrate one's heritage.

I think this one is the best, it looks as if Harry Potter has been caught in the act...

I'm very glad I made this diversion, even though it meant that I didn't get to my next destination, Rotorua, until fairly late that night.