This month I hope you have packed well. Due to unforeseen personal circumstances there wasn't a tour last month so this month you will get TWO. This will be a VERY busy month for me as I have to write three articles in total as next month I am heading off on a real trip. Three weeks in the USA visiting a number of what, until now have only been cyber friends. Of course I am NOT the least bit excited but just between you and me, as I sit down to write this article there are only 26 more sleeps until I head off on my adventure, made even more exciting by the fact that this trip will be totally "me" time, I am leaving the hubby and the kids to fend for themselves while I head off jet setting. Well enough of that and off to the serious business of our next New Zealand adventure.
This month I thought we would head of to Rotorua on New Zealand's north island.
Much of New Zealand is very like England, lush, green, beautiful and then there is Rotorua. Although equally as beautiful as the rest of New Zealand, Rotorua is famous for its boiling mud, hot springs, geysers and the constant smell of sulphate. It is located in an area that was once high in volcanic activity and the string of beautiful lakes that can also be found in this area are all volcanic craters.
The town of Rotorua is surrounded by mainly man made forests of Radiata Pine. It is one of the most productive forests in the world. The climate and volcanic soil in this area allow the pine trees to mature in only 25 to 30 years.
To the south of Rotorua is the Whakarewaewa State Forest Park. There are over 500 hot springs in this park and they occur in an area that is only 1 km long b 500 meters wide. The hot springs range from clear bubbling water to boiling mud. There are two main types of hot springs, chlorine and sulphate. In chlorine spring the water is usually clear and is discharged at near boiling point. Sulphate springs are highly acid and tend to form turbid water or pools of mud. They give off acid gases and can alter the rocks to form clay. All the geysers are chlorine springs. The best geysers are the Prince of Wales Feathers and Waikorohihi, with Pohutu being the most impressive. It often erupts of a height of 18 meters on average but can often reach twice that. Pohutu erupts frequently but at irregular intervals, activity by one geyser seems to affect the others and this suggests that they are call connected underground.
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