Welcome to the upper North IslandThey often say one of the best places to explore is your own backyard. And I have to admit: despite having lived in New Zealand most of my childhood and teenage years, I never had the chance to roam around the North Island all that much. So back at the start of 2016, I jumped at the opportunity to see some close friends in Hamilton and see the surrounding region. From Coromandel to King Country, from hillock to highway, the Waikato has countless treats to uncover. Hear the bellbird? See the fantail? Even the ferns and mosses are whispering something... My first stop: Whakarewarewa Forest on the outskirts of Rotorua, known for its coastal redwoods. These are Californian Redwoods and are, therefore, quite obviously, not native to the country. The trees were originally planted back in the 1900s as a commercial forestry trial and have since transformed into a pleasant recreational forest. Afterwards, I wandered around Rotorua proper and took a soak in the local hot thermal springs. Rotorua (alias: 'Roto-Vegas', 'Rotten-rua', 'Sulphur City') is known for its strong geothermal activity, which fills the air with pungent hydrogen sulphide emissions. Translation? The city often has the fragrance of rotten eggs about it. Lovely! My visit to Rotorua also meant a visit to Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley. It is a world of hot pools, stinking gases, boiling mud, and – of course – roaring geysers. The local Māori have lived here for centuries, drawing on the valley's geothermal potency for heating and cooking. Occasionally, when the geothermal agony of the underworld can be contained no longer, the boiling crucible beneath the valley explodes through rock pores. This can be seen at sites such as Pohutu Geyser where a jet of silica and scorching water will launch towards the sky (30m, in all) before drizzling back down the geyser’s ghostly white terraces. After Rotorua, I spent a day at Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. Fact: the lake is a caldera that was created when a supervolcanic erupted over 26,000 years ago. It is hard for the human mind to imagine the explosion that would've punched a hole this big in the ground all those eons ago. I also had the opportunity to briefly hike alongside the Waikato River (which means Flowing Water in Māori). It is the longest river in the country, snaking indolently from Lake Taupo, through to Hamilton, and finally into the Tasman Sea. The Waikato region is a food bowl for the country even before European settlement and the river was historically used by local tribes to transport produce far and wide. And in the pictures below is Huka Falls near Taupo. As the languid Waikato River is forced through a narrow trench of volcanic rock, it emerges as a thundering cascade of crystal white. Or to put it less lyrically: around 200,000 litres of water surge down Huka Falls every second! Another point of interest: Craters of the Moon, north of Taupo. Ghostly steam vents are scattered across this geothermal landscape. Its soil radiates an eerie heat. And the sulphurous smell can be at times, uh, very musky. It is an otherworldy place to stroll around. Lastly, I concluded with a simple trip to Hamilton Gardens. It is one of the Waikato's most popular visitor attractions and features 21 gardens the aesthetics and floral compositions of different cultures and civilisations. There's an interpretation of a Chinese Scholar's Garden, a Japanese Garden, an Indian Mughal Garden, an Italian Renaissance Garden, among others. While not extremely dramatic, Hamilton Gardens provided an adequate coda to my brief Waikato excursion. A chance to sniff the blossoms, hang out with my friends, and say goodbye to the North Island for the time being.
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AuthorMing is an economist, traveller, and creative writer from Melbourne, Australia. He’s a nebulous collection of particles on the lookout for a good corner to sit with a book and a cup of coffee. Archives
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