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The fierce volcanic eruptions that reshaped much of this area in the late ninetheenth century devastated some of the scenic wonders, but it also left as part of its legacy a unique landscape of impressive and often unexpected beauty.
Some of the most spectacular geothermal fields in the country are located south of Rotorua at Waiotapu and Waimangu. These geothermal areas are located on a fault line where two of the Earth’s continental plates meet and were formed by the eruption of Mt Tarawera on 10 June 1886. On the day of the eruption, a series of explosions following a number of large earthquakes, tore a huge cratered rift, almost 17 km across the top of Mt Tarawera. The resulting cloud of ash could be seen from Gisborne 140 km to the east. An even higher column of steam erupted from the Lake Rotomahana basin which exploded to become twenty times larger than its original size, smothering the surrounding landscape with mud. The eruptions ended almost as quickly as they had begun. They left nine deep craters in the mountain and spread a layer of black basalt scoria and ash across most of the Bay of Plenty all the way south to Hawke's Bay. Many of the natural features that can be seen today are the result of this massive eruption, providing a fascinating insight into an intriguing active volcanic landscape that stretches south to Wairakei, Taupo and beyond into the mountains of the central North Island's volcanic plateau.
The fierce volcanic eruptions that reshaped much of this area in the late ninetheenth century devastated some of the scenic wonders, but it also left as part of its legacy a unique landscape of impressive and often unexpected beauty.
Waimangu Volcanic Valley
1waimangu
From Rotorua head south out of the city on SH5 for 14.9 km, turn left onto Waimangu Road and travel 5.8 km east to Waimangu.
The entire Waimangu volcanic valley was formed by the Tarawera eruption. An easy walk leads down into this rift valley to the steaming blue Waimangu Cauldron and a huge hot mineral spring known as the Frying Pan Lake with its fascinating sinter terraces. It is worth making the short climb from the main track to the Inferno and Echo Craters. This is a fascinating and unique environment where many of the plants that have become established in the thermal area since the eruptions, feature significant adaptations that enable them to survive in this thermal environment. The track continues to the Warbrick silica terraces and further along to Lake Rotomahana, the deepest lake in the North Island. You can take a half hour boat trip across the lake to see steaming cliffs and the former site of the famous Pink and White Terraces, which were destroyed in the 1886 eruption. The walk takes about 2 hours and there is a bus to take you back up the hill.
Waiotapo - Champaigne
2waiotapu
Continue southeast on Okaro Road 2.7 km, turn right onto SH38 and drive southwest 1.3 km and turn left onto SH5. Continue south 5 km and turn left onto the Waiotapu Loop Road and drive 0.8 km to the Waiotapu thermal area.
The fascinating terrace formations, craters and mud pools of the Waiotapu thermal area can be explored on a well marked system of tracks. One of the most dramatic features is the Champagne Pool. This enormous hot spring, fills a 900 year old crater with water that rises from a depth of over 400 m. The water is tinted green with arsenic, sulphur and iron compounds and is bubbling with carbon dioxide, while leaving orange coloured antimony deposits along with traces of gold, silver and mercury along its rim, as well as on the huge sinter terraces that it flows across. The tracks also lead to other attractions including the Artists Palette, the Rainbow Crater and Frying Pan Flat. A boardwalk crosses the steaming Silica Terrace and you can also visit the azure blue Lake Ngakoro. The mud pool at Waiotapu is one of the best places in the region to experience the sights and sounds of erupting hot mud. A short drive from the park entrance will take you to the Lady Knox Geyser which regularly bursts into life daily at precisely 10.15 am. This is achieved by an attendant temporarily blocking the vent and adding soap powder, decreasing the surface viscosity of the water and causing an almost immediate eruption.
the waiotapu geothermal area
Located on the edge of the largest volcanic caldera within the active Taupo Volcanic Zone, Waiotapu has been the scene of volcanic activity for the last 160,000 years. The caldera was formed after huge volumes of material were erupted from below the surface leaving a massive hollowed out area that collapsed to form a large depression in the surface of the Earth. Waiotapu is the largest area of thermal activity on the surface anywhere in this volcanic zone. It is part of an area where there are immensely powerful forces at work deep within the Earth’s crust. This is where the Indian–Australian Plate is being pushed up and is gradually rising and overlapping the Pacific Plate. The immense pressures involved have created a massive fault line in the Earth’s crust where heat from deep below the surface is able to escape creating the geothermal features that can be seen today. Beneath the ground a subterranean system of streams is still being heated by magma left over from earlier eruptions. This super heated water absorbs minerals from the rocks through which it passes, carrying them up to the surface as steam where they are reabsorbed into the surrounding landscape. The wide range of colours that can be seen at Waiotapu are all natural elements created by these different minerals.
Orakei-Korako
3orakei korako
Return to SH5 and continue southwest 16.8 km to Mihi. Turn right onto Tutukau Road and drive west 16.3 km. Turn right onto Orakeikorako Road and drive north 4.9 km to Orakei Korako on the right.
Following the destruction of the Pink and White Terraces, the silica terrace formations at the base of the Orakei Korako Geyserland, became the best surviving example of this type of colourful geothermal phenomenon. There are up to 23 active natural geysers in this area along with a large number of boiling hot springs and mud pools. A short boat ride across Lake Ohakuri provides access to a series of tracks and boardwalks that lead through the 'hidden valley' of Orakei Korako to the Ruatapu Cave which extends 40 m down to a sacred hot pool named ‘Waiwhakaata’ (pool of mirrors) which was once used by Maori of the Tuwharetoa, a Ngati Tahu sub-tribe.
Massive pipes at Wairakei conduct steam
4wairakei
Return to Tutukau Road and continue west 8.4 km to SH1. Turn left and continue south 14.7 km on SH1 to the junction with SH5. Turn right and continue west 0.7 km to Wairakei.
Geothermal steam is used to make electricity at Wairakei, and as you drive through on the main highway you can see the huge pipes that are part of the power project from the road. The pipes conduct steam from natural underground cauldrons in the geothermal field between 1km and 3 km below the surface. Opened in 1958, the Wairakei geothermal power station was a significant technological development at the time. This was the first use of geothermal steam to generate power in New Zealand and only the second time it had been used in the world. The power station draws pressurised water and steam, that can be anywhere between 200º and 300ºC and separates it into steam and water. The dry steam is used to spin turbines which generate electricity. Because the turbines in a geothermal power station need dry steam, New Zealand engineers had to find a way to separate the steam and hot water when they designed the power station. The first advances in the technology had been made by the Italians at Larderello where the world’s first geothermal power station had been opened using dry steam in 1913. Engineers serving with the New Zealand army in Italy during the Second World War had visited Larderello in June 1944 but found that it had been destroyed by the retreating German forces. In 1948 New Zealand engineers visited Larderello again after the power station had been rebuilt. At the time New Zealand had experienced two dry years preventing it’s hydroelectric power stations from producing enough power so alternative energy sources, independent of imported oil, were being looked at. Exploratory drilling began at Wairakei in 1949. The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research had already successfully drilled to 170 m to obtain steam for the Wairakei Tourist Hotel and the nearby Waikato River provided a source of cooling water. The power station was built between 1958 and 1963. New Zealand’s engineers had invented a steam–water separator to convert the wet steam to dry stream as well as overcoming numerous other problems to make the plant operational. The Geothermal fields have the potential to generate up to a third of the countries electric power.
The Huka Falls.
5huka falls
Continue south on SH1 for 2.3 km and turn left onto Huka Falls Road which runs adjacent to SH1 as you drive towards Taupo. It is 0.9 km to the Huka Falls carpark.
The Waikato River plunges through a narrow gap in the volcanic rock 4 km north of its source, Lake Taupo. Walking tracks lead from the parking area to a bridge across a narrow chasm where the river surges violently towards the falls. A short distance further along the track you can view the falls from wooden platforms on the sidees of the bluffs. The control gates open daily at 10 am, midday, 2 pm and, in summer, at 4 pm. Downstream from the falls you can take a trip on the Waireka, a restored riverboat built in 1908 that once operated on the Whanganui River. Today this historic vessel operates on the Waikato River from River Road and the Mihi Bridge, taking passengers as far as Orakei Korako.
6taupo
Return to SH1 and continue south for 5.3 km to Taupo.
Taupo is one of the main centres on the volcanic plateau. It is famous for trout fishing and offers a variety of chartered boat trips out on the lake, as well as scenic flights. Among the many cruise vessels on the lake are the Barbary, an ocean going yacht from the 1920s once owned by Errol Flynn, the steamboat Alice, the Ernest Kemp, a replica of a 1920s steam ferry, and the modern Cruise Cat.
The settlement dates back to 1869, when a military outpost was established on the eastern bank of the Waikato River near its outfall from the lake. A redoubt was built there with mounted constabulary remaining until 1885, when Te Kooti was finally defeated. The Taupo Regional Museum and Art Gallery, on Story Place, displays photos and mementos from the colonial days as well as Maori carvings and a moa skeleton.
AC baths
The AC Baths are at the top end of Spa Road.
In 1874 the well known politician William Fox, toured the thermal regions of the central North Island. He wrote to New Zealand’s Premier, Julius Vogel, suggesting that the pools would attract both invalids and tourists and that if developed that they could become a source of great wealth for the country. As a result the Government developed three main spas at Rotorua, Te Aroha and Hanmer although later in the 19th and early 20th centuries, springs were also privately developed at Maruia on the West Coast of the South Island, at Morere and Te Puia on the east coast of the North Island and at Parakai near the Kaipara Harbour, The Armed Constabulary Baths were also established around this time near Taupo. Today the AC Baths feature large heated indoor and outdoor pools complete with a water cannon, a waterslide and private mineral pools.
lake taupo
Over 40 km long and 30 km wide, with a depth of over 150 m, Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand. The lake is fed by numerous rivers before the water flows out into the Waikato River, travelling hundreds of kilometres north to the sea at Port Waikato, just south of Auckland. The often calm waters of the lake, with it’s tranquil bays and picturesque outlook towards the mountains of the Tongariro National Park in the south, belies its violent beginnings. This huge body of water fills a volcanic caldera, a huge depression created by what was originally an enormous explosion crater. The caldera was formed by massive eruptions between 50,000 and 22,000 years ago. The most recent eruption was about 1,850 years ago towards the end of what was probably the most violent series of volcanic eruptions in recorded history. Enormous volumes of ash and pumice (a super-heated volcanic rock) were thrown skywards in the eruptions, producing spectacular sunsets all around the world that were recorded by the ancient Romans as well as in China. The pumice spread across the landscape covering the landscape in a thick layer that can still be seen in roadside cuttings today. The eruptions left a huge depression that filled with water to become Lake Taupo. Today the edge of the caldera lies near Waitahanui and the underwater cliffs of the Horomatangi reefs just offshore where between 60 and 100 cubic km of ash and rocks were ejected during the eruptions. At many places on the shores of the lake, you can still find steam bubbling to the surface where it heats the shallow water. You can experience cold and warms spots when you go for a swim whereas a few metres further out, the lake water becomes icy cold.