The Volcanoes of Tonagariro National Park

Tongariro National Park was established as New Zealand’s first National Park in 1887, when the Maori gifted their sacred peaks to the government of New Zealand as a way to preserve an area of spiritual significance to them.

Mount Ruapehu, at 2797 meters, is the highest and most active of the volcanoes. The volcano has erupted five times since 1969, with the most spectacular being in 1996.


In winter, this volcano is a huge ski resort (go figure… it seems Kiwi’s aren’t deterred by anything!). The Chalet at the entrance to the resort area sits directly in the lahar (volcanic mudflow – think Mount St. Helens) path and scientists are predicting one in the not-too-distant future. Yikes!


Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy), looks calm and peaceful as it emerges from the morning cloud cover. It is the youngest of the three volcanoes, having formed in the last 2500 years, and is still perfectly symmetrical.


Mount Tongariro has several craters; Red Crater, pictured here, last erupted in 1926. The Tongariro Crossing, a beautiful one day hike that we did, crosses right over the highest peak of this crater.

 

Around Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo is New Zealand’s largest lake and lies in the center of the North Island, near Rotorua. It is 606 sq km in area (that’s pretty dang big!) and the hole where the lake is was formed by a huge volcanic explosion. The main activities in the area include bungy jumping, skydiving, hiking, and trout fishing — in fact, it is supposed to be the trout fishing capital of the world (funny that the trout are descended from a single stock of eggs brought over from the Russian River in California a century ago). And yes, we did go fishing – fly fishing, in fact – but, unfortunately, there is no story about the one that got away...

At the south end of the lake lies Tongariro National Park, the three volcanic peaks visible in the distance. You movie geeks may feel you’ve seen these peaks before, as Tongariro played the role of ‘Mordor’ in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The peak on the right is Mt. Tongariro – we did a one day hike over this peak (more to come on that...).


The Waikato River flows east from Lake Taupo to the Pacific Ocean and is NZ’s longest river.


Along its’ route is the spectacular Huka Falls, more a very large rapid than a tall waterfall, but you really have to see it. It is a huge body of water being squeezed through a very small opening in the rock, and the amount of power it generates is very impressive. To give you an idea of how big this torrent is, there are people standing to the top left of the falls.


Along a short hike we took to get to the falls, were so many of these beautiful mushrooms – Juli, this one’s for you...

 

Geothermal Rotorua

At the heart of the Northern Island of New Zealand is a geothermal hotspot, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, around which the city of Rotorua has developed. Forget seeing the traditional volcanoes here; this area is all about thermal hot springs, boiling (literally) pools, bubbling mud, and sulfur vents. If you’ve ever smelt sulfur, then you know that it spoils your appetite for a good egg salad sandwich. The entire area is permeated by the smell of rotten eggs; however, once you’ve been there for a few days, you kinda forget about it.

Most of the geothermal areas have, of course, been exploited by the tourist industry and there are only a couple of spots where you can see this natural occurrence for free. One of the hottest spots to pay for this experience is Hell’s Gate Thermal Reserve and Spa. There is a 2.5 km walk around the grounds where you can see mud volcanoes, lime-green sulfur pools, spewing mud pots, hot-water waterfalls, and native bush.

Then, after a long, hard day of being a tourist, you can enjoy the therapeutic effects of these waters. The full experience (which we, of course, did) starts with a private 20-minute mud bath in which you smear yourself, and your partner, with hot mud pulled directly from the bottom of the sulfur pools. This is followed immediately by the coldest mandatory shower I think I have ever had to experience, to enliven the pores and wash all the mud from crevices. Next is a long soak in the hot sulfur pools; again the water is pulled from the natural pools and mineral water is added to balance the pH. Back before Europeans got a hold of this area, the Mauri would soak in these waters after a battle to heal their wounds and revitalize their spirits. I think the sulfur pretty much kills every living beastie on your body, which is where the healing properties come from. The final touch was a full-hour traditional Manuka Oil massage.

Another area is the Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, where the main attraction is the Champagne Pool, so called for the beautiful colored minerals leached out at its’ edge.

In stark contrast, beautiful Lake Rotorua attracts many types of water birds, including black swans.

It wasn’t until we left the area, would step out of our camper for a while, then return, that we realized that everything that we owned at that point – clothes, towels, seat cushions, us – smelt of sulfur. I must admit, though, my skin was very smooth, my aches were less, and my bug bites and cuts seemed to be healing quite a bit faster. Eggs, though… it was a couple of weeks before we ate them again.