Violent Explosions, Ejecta, Steaming Fumeroles and Boiling Mud

The reunion was scheduled through Monday, but our flight out was Monday afternoon, so Sunday was the final full day in NZ.  And it was glorious.  Sunny, warm, technicolor greens and blues, much like the last three weeks.

 

Some of the group were repeating things we’d already done, or going river rafting, or just chilling on site.  We set out to the Waimangu Volcanic Valley, which bills itself as “how the world began.”  In the 1800s it had been a tourist destination where the elites “took the waters” on what were called the pink and white terraces.  They were the largest silica sinter deposits on earth and something of a geographic wonder.  Sepia toned antique pics and drawings show what look like salt crusted pools, bowl shaped, tiered like terrace farming, with steamy waters running down the sides as if melting icing on a bundt cake.

 

But then on June 10, 1886, the geothermal springs got something of a seismic upheaval.  There was an eruption of Hollywood Sensurround proportion (the sound alone was heard in Christchurch on the south island, nearly 900 kms and across a strait away).  A new landscape arose.  The tranquil lake Rotomohana lies within the volcanic crater.  Inferno Crater is the world’s largest “geyser-like” crater.  And the terraces were destroyed.  Or, you can Wikipedia it, and see that scientific consensus is torn between them being “buried underwater” or completely destroyed.  However you view the opinion, you can’t view the terraces.

 

The park, an untouched ecosystem since the 1886 eruption, was a novel and really fascinating day out, more “interpretive” than just a hike.  Truthfully, one of our NZ highlights.

The white material that clings to the rocks around the pools is kaolin, used in porcelain production.  The hot water that flows out of Frying Pan Lake contains antimony, molybdenum, arsenic and tungsten. Along with algae, these create the orange, brown, and green colours of the stream.

Sunday evening Steve F (one of the three Steves at the reunion) cooked up a mega-paella, which was excellent.  We all enjoyed a good meal, we all said our goodbyes, and that was pretty much it.  The reunion, the New Zealand trip.