Our last day in Rotorua didn't happen as planned. We had driven out to the Buried Village to find it wasn’t open till mid week. Sad, as we had enjoyed visiting here 40 years ago on our honeymoon trip, and wanted to see it again. Such a shame – it tells the story of Mount Tarawera erupting in 1886. Over four frightening hours, rocks, ash and mud rained down on the Maori village of Te Wairoa, covering the village with two metres of thick volcanic material. The eruption also destroyed the famous Pink and White Terraces. Hopefully, we can visit here on a future trip to Rotorua.
Our visit was not be be this time
Our Plan B was to visit a few more lakes in Rotorua. The Blue Lake and the Green Lake are side by side, separated by a small isthmus, which had a very convenient lookout spot. The Blue Lake, Tikitapu, is named as the place where the daughter of a chief lost her sacred greenstone neck ornament. The lake water appears turquoise blue when seen from above due to the reflection of white rhyolite and pumice on the lake bottom. The Green Lake, Rotokakahi, is named after the shellfish, kakahi, and appears to be emerald green when seen from above, due to its shallow, sandy bottom. Privately owned by the local Iwi, this lake is sacred, and no swimming, boating or fishing is allowed.
Blue and Green Lakes
There was one more lake further up the road to visit, Lake Tarawera. You can just make out the flat topped mountain in the background. That is Mt Tarawera which blew it’s top back in 1886 and caused such devastation. The lake was calm, and boat rides are available across the lake in the weekends. We had an interesting chat to a tour guide who specialises in high end tours, he told us he often travels to collect clients from Auckland, travels around for days or weeks as required, staying at posh hotels. One of his groups included a family group with adult children, the private pilot, plus a butler!
Lake Tarawera, with Mt Tarawera in the background
The next morning we packed up, said goodbye to Ngongotaha and started traveling homewards. The weather wasn’t the best and we passed steaming ground as we neared Taupo – the rain always makes these vents steam more.
Steaming vents near Taupo
Turangi NZMCA Park was our stop for the night. A lovely big area with plenty of room for the few vans stopping overnight. The rain hosed down late afternoon and all through the night. We enjoyed some fish and chips from the local shop, very nice they were too, and settled down for the evening warmed by our trusty diesel heater. By morning, the rain had eased, but the wind had picked up, chasing the wind and clouds away.
Turangi NZMCA Park
From here, we stopped at Waiouru to refuel and a coffee, then heading straight on home. Our Anniversary Trip was over, and we had a wonderful time. It was an easy trip home, spreading it over a couple of days. Robin’s knee behaved really well, this was his first big drive since the knee replacement. The weather was quite mixed, there were a few nice days, but we certainly had our share of wind and rain. We are not home too long, have another trip planned for next week.
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