This day gets two broad descriptions: 1) A great science field trip day and 2) A day of transportation frustration. This second description doesn’t need to be dwelled on except to reiterate that having one’s own transportation can save literally hours of precious vacation time. And if there’s a cranky shuttle driver, having one’s own car can also save a lot of angst during precious vacation time.

Now onto the science field trips…

Our driver collected people from all over the downtown Rotorua area and took us to Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland, about a 30 minute drive outside of Rotorua through more steaming places and pine forest plantings. Through our guide’s commentary, I learned that the South Island is much older than the North Island. The North Island is still growing through volcanic activity and that’s why there’s so much visible geothermal activity. The mounds of green hills that are scattered throughout the landscape are actually mounds of ash and rock from past volcanic eruptions and much of what we were driving through was up and down the sides of the crater of an extinct volcano.

We arrived at the Visitor’s Center and our guide/driver gave us a quick orientation to the park and sent us on our way with a map in hand and a return time. Seeing pictures of steaming rock may not be that interesting to some. It’s one of those experiences that’s better in person, seeing it, smelling it (!) and feeling the gases envelope you. What is interesting from a science point of view is what chemicals form the many colors seen in the soil, the mud and the water.

For pools that are black or dark in color, they have high levels of graphite and crude oil. Some of the pools have an oily sheen on top.

There were some wood carvings along the trail depicting some native birds of New Zealand.

Our driver picked us up to go see the Lady Knox Geyser erupt. There were busloads of tourists waiting for ‘the event’. Finally a park ranger came out and gave a quick talk about how decades ago prisoners clearing the forests came across the geyser (a longer story than I need to write). Then he poured soap powder into the mouth of the crater and it erupted about 3 minutes later. Old Faithful it is not.

Back onto the shuttle, we went to the mud pools which were much more satisfying.

The second part of the science field trip: We left Wai-O-Tapu (I won’t go into transportation issue here) and I arrived at the Redwoods Treewalk for a walk in the woods, a nice contrast to pools of boiling chemicals and gases. The Treewalk is just that…climb up stairs about 45 feet up and walk on suspended walkways amongst the trees, looking down at all the many species of ground and tree ferns and underbrush. It wasn’t crowded, it was quiet and so peaceful.

The redwood trees planted here were brought from California, again as a plantation crop for timber to replace deforestation of native trees. Scientists studied the climate here and realized that the California redwood tree would thrive in this climate. One big difference, though, is that New Zealand gets more rain and this allows the trees to grow faster. Since they grow faster with more moisture, the growth rings are much wider and they are considered a softwood instead of a hardwood.

You might have noticed in an earlier photo the lanterns hanging in this forest. This Treewalk can also be done at night and it has lanterns hanging throughout. The lantern designs are based on the markings of different bird species. I think I’d like to do this walk at night too.

Here’s a picture from the information board that shows the lit Treewalk:

I exited the suspended Treewalk and decided to take a brief walk through the forest on the trails so I could experience the ferns from below. Still, it was so quiet, not a bird call or cicada and the ground was soft from needles. It really was so peaceful.

It was time to leave the Redwoods so now comes more transportation angst because I was on foot and hoping to catch a city bus back into Rotorua. A 15 minute walk out of the park and to the bus stop and then a 50 minute (!) wait for a bus got me into downtown. Patience. And as I walked through familiar streets, I spotted a cat cafe. What a perfect way to soothe some frazzled nerves! I ordered a fresh orange juice and hung out with the cats who were mostly fascinated by the smells on my backpack and the light reflection on the wall, such a fun game.

Treat time:

The cats and orange juice revived me for my walk back to the motel. So ended my last full day in Rotorua with a lot of great science and creature comforts.