In Hot Water

6th June 2011 - Taupo

Another day of rain for  the Queen’s Birthday Weekend so we decided to head out to Orakei Korako to see the thermal vents and silica terraces. We were working on the theory that the rain would create more steam and we were right! Loads of steam and bubbles!

There were silica deposits flowing into the lake…

 
Pretty colours caused by algae growing in the warm streams…

 

Rocks that look like elephant heads…

Maritime rushes growing in mud…

 
… And bubbling water and mud

 

On the way to Taupo we stopped at Huka Falls, which weren’t so much as a waterfall but rather shed loads of water being forced through a narrow passage of rock. It was scary to think what would happen if anyone fell in. We tried a pooh stick and the water was so strong it held the stick upright at one point in the falls. Then it got stuck and kept getting bashed against a rock – eeek! I’ve managed to find a video of some people going down it in kayaks – human pooh sticks all over again! Have a look by clicking here.

We We  got a really good sighting of a Fantail eating flies off the top of the hot water at the thermal pools and on the way home we nearly got a photo of a wild pig as it wandered out of the woods. We think it was as shocked as we were – it was wondering why the woods had ended! We did see a lovely rainbow though.