Active underground & in the green glow of the glowworm.
New Zealand lies in a belt of volcanic activity that runs through Asia. Besides a number of active and dormant volcanoes, there are also fields of geothermal activity. The city of Rotorua lies in one of these fields and is also a powerhouse of Maori culture and economy.
The Pohutu geyser is the largest active geyser in New Zealand, we try it…
That is, until we arrived at the tall plankwork that encircled it all and carefully ensured that coin could be made of the natural phenomenon.
Unfortunately - came the message from the handsome uniformed guy at the entrance. All tours are sold out for today, we have no more capacity. Judging from the many large tourist buses waiting in the parking lots, it really is big business.
Hmnn… That feeling was becoming very indicative of our experience of New Zealand.
After some difficulties in being allowed to buy some food to wash away the disappointment (we are not on a streamlined tourist agency trip - and are therefore without the right wristbands) we succeeded in the end.
We spend another day waiting for our turn.
The next morning it will be our turn in the queue. In a nicely assembled group, our Maori guide leads us forward and gives us stories about the area. The Maori have a school in connection with the geyser area, where they can learn handicrafts, traditional clothing making with plant fibers, jewelry making in stone and beautiful wood carvings. This school is co-financed by the business part of the tourism sector. You can easily be a wild tribal warrior who pays tribute to the past - and be on Facebook, listening to gangster rap while driving an electric car.
We only know of the geyser in Iceland, which has a deeper underground chamber, where it builds up a large pressure - and shoots 10+ tons of water up to a height of 20 meters in a few seconds.
This one here in New Zealand is different. It is more like a fountain or a steam cleaner that stands and sputters, on the other hand, it is super hot and continues for 15-20 minutes at a time.
It is impressive to see how skilled the Maori are at carving wood and making figures of all sizes. Right now they are working on some large figures that will stand in a park. Others are making jade jewelry.
We are let loose on our own and go in to see the Maori show. It is reminiscent of what we have already seen before, but it is now quite cozy and their music and singing are wonderful to listen to. When the show is over, we go over to the geyser again. It's gorgeous weather and lovely to trudge around and just enjoy the view.
Volcanic Loop Highway – sounds just like it to us. In Ohakune, there is a good way up New Zealand's highest volcano, Mount Ruapehu. We can drive up to an altitude of approx. 1,600 meters, the rest of the trip is reserved for ski tourists in a lift. It is the only glacier on the North Island and it cannot be overlooked in the landscape.
We're pretty much the only ones driving up there, so there's plenty of time to just wander off. A beautiful waterfall is also on the route up the volcano.
In Waitomo there is a large cave with glow worms. It's a huge attraction and we got tickets at the end of the week.
Johnny goes on the “Black Abyss” tour. There is abseiling, zipline, a bit of climbing, running around and then, of course, a sailing trip in a car tire through the cave.
Sus takes the “Black Labyrinth” tour, with waterfall and boat trip. The glowworms sit in the ceiling of the completely dark cave, and glow with their little green lights.
Our time in New Zealand is coming to an end. We drive up to Coromandel, where we can enjoy the beautiful view of the fjord. The trip also offers a small trip with a tourist train, up a mountainside. The train has to zigzag its way up, so we constantly change direction. Fortunately, this has been taken into account, as the backrests can be reversed. Then you can always drive forward and enjoy the view. You quickly become good friends with the passengers next to you, as we often have to change direction and we switch backrests. Fun little train.
Now the trip goes back to Australia, we are very much looking forward to less tourist pressure and not least to having our own car again. It may well be that 2.6 square meters is not much, but it is ours.
