BLOG POST 19
After the visit to the Agrodome ,we returned to our hotel for a small power nap after a light lunch as Tony had told us that we are in for a early Hangi dinner
Few of our members had gone for shopping and joined us at the Te Puia which is an iconic destination for visitors and fits its role as Kaitiaki (guardian) of Māori culture for future generations.
We were met by the two guides who were apparently descendents of Rotorua’s earliest hosts.
After walking through the gates of Te Puia, we found ourselves standing beneath Heketanga-ā-Rangi a contemporary Māori artwork which reached skywards with 12 monumental carvings
There we were divided into 2 batches ,one to tour the geo thermal features and the other to see the cultural village and the New Zealand national carving and weaving center.
We were in the first batch and left to see the geysers in a motorised waka (transporter) a sort of a train driven by a Maori lady very proud of her heritage
Rotorua's volcanic activity has drawn visitors to the region for generations and when it comes to things to do in Rotorua, people say that no visit is complete without exploring its spectacular thermal parks and attractions.
We were impressed and amazed by Rotorua's geothermal features which included spouting geysers, bubbling mud pools and colourful sinter terraces.
Geothermal water starts life as rainwater, which seeps down though cracks in the rock towards a heat source deep within the earth.
Hot water is less dense than cold water, so it rises and emerges at the earth’s surface, sometimes as steam or mixed with steam.
The hot water reacts with the rock it comes into contact with, and becomes enriched with dissolved minerals
In 1901 the first open prison in New Zealand was established at Waiotapu, its object was to accommodate some of the better-behaved prisoners from jails of Rotorua Lakes District.
A gang of those prisoners first discovered the clearing in which the geyser is situated and found that when they added soap to the hot water to wash their clothes, the geyser could erupt
Geysers are a rare and spectacular phenomenon, hot springs which intermittently eject jets of boiling water and steam into the air. Their name is related to the Icelandic word geysa, meaning ‘to gush or spout’
At Te Puia, Rotorua, the magma is only 6-7 kilometres below the Earth’s crust which accounts for all the activity of the surface.
Pōhutu, meaning ‘constant splashing’ in Māori the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere , regularly erupts to a height of 15–30 metres, and sometimes much higher. Prince of Wales Feathers, previously named Te Tohu a few metres north of Pōhutu, began spurting in June 1886, after the Mt Tarawera eruption probably triggered by earthquakes.
Originally it was known as the Indicator, as it normally played shortly before Pōhutu erupted, but in 1901 it was renamed in honour of the royal visit that year. Since 1992 it has played almost continuously erupting to heights of up to 7 metres (21 feet)
Pōhutu is the most reliable geyser on Earth and eruptions last from a few minutes to much longer. About 15 years ago, Pōhutu erupted for over 250 days.
Pōhutu has been visited by royalty and many other famous people. However, because nearby residents used bores to tap into the valley’s geothermal resources, Pōhutu was once at grave risk of losing its power. Fortunately, a program to close bores ensured that Pōhutu continues to impress visitors once or twice an hour.
We had a fair share of looking at Pohutu erupting
Near the geyser there were rocks and our guide playfully asked us all to have a hot seat and relax our weary bodies for some time, all of us sat on the warm stones but two of our friends shot up quickly and started rubbing their backs with embarrassed grins, we came to know that these rocks also tend to have cracks conveying the heat directly to the cracks in the stones LOL!
In the 19th century there were an estimated 220 of these erupting hot springs in New Zealand, but by 2004 only 58 remained. Whakarewarewa is now the only major remaining geyser field as most of the remaining geysers have been damaged or affected by human activity, especially withdrawing steam or hot water for heating
We went past the geysers to Ngā mōkai-ā-Koko, Te Puia’s largest mud pool. The mud in this pool was dark because it contained small quantities of black sulphur .The bubbling mud was like a live thing playfully pouting and spouting mud like naughty babies do. It was mesmerising to watch and we couldn’t take our eyes off it
I was thinking maybe after I die and go to hell it would look like this with sulphur smells, gushing geysers and bubbling mud pools , anyway let me face it when it comes I thought and brushing away the morbid thought I went ahead for a look at the elusive Kiwi bird because a visit to New Zealand wouldn’t be complete without meeting the national icon.
Kiwi birds are nocturnal and incredibly shy .The kiwi is a nocturnal flightless bird and New Zealand’s national icon.
Years ago there were about 12 million kiwi, but today there are fewer than 100,000 and this national icon is endangered.
The kiwi bird is an important cultural icon to all New Zealanders, who call themselves ‘Kiwis’. In the late 1800s, the kiwi started being used as a trademark, and featured on one of the first pictorial stamps issued.
During the early 1900s, New Zealand was depicted in sporting and other cartoons as a kiwi. During the First World War, New Zealand soldiers started being referred to as Kiwis.
Next we went on to the other guide our groups interchanged and we were shown around the village and centres
Te Puia houses the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, established in the 1920s to foster all aspects of Māori culture. At Te Puia, national schools of carving, weaving and other traditional arts train talented students from around New Zealand under the guidance of master crafts persons
Traditionally, weaving and carving were vital Māori arts but by the 1920 they were in danger of extinction. Established in 1926, the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia has seen carving, weaving and other traditional Māori art forms not only survive but thrive.
At the National Wood Carving School we could see this prestigious art form being handed down from master carvers to young trainees. We watched as students practiced this traditional Māori art .
At the National Stone and Bone Carving School students learn the revered tradition of carving pounamu (New Zealand greenstone), bone and stone. Students in this school also explore other materials and technical processes, including casting.
At the national weaving school students learn the ancient art of Māori weaving. We watched with fascination the weavers at work and interacted with them as they created garments of great beauty.
The flax weaving section had a very good display of woven items made from flax leaves - floor mats, grass skirts were created in a jiffy
The 3 ladies showed us how leaves were stripped into thin fibers which then were used for weaving.
After the visit to the Agrodome ,we returned to our hotel for a small power nap after a light lunch as Tony had told us that we are in for a early Hangi dinner
Few of our members had gone for shopping and joined us at the Te Puia which is an iconic destination for visitors and fits its role as Kaitiaki (guardian) of Māori culture for future generations.
We were met by the two guides who were apparently descendents of Rotorua’s earliest hosts.
After walking through the gates of Te Puia, we found ourselves standing beneath Heketanga-ā-Rangi a contemporary Māori artwork which reached skywards with 12 monumental carvings
There we were divided into 2 batches ,one to tour the geo thermal features and the other to see the cultural village and the New Zealand national carving and weaving center.
We were in the first batch and left to see the geysers in a motorised waka (transporter) a sort of a train driven by a Maori lady very proud of her heritage
Rotorua's volcanic activity has drawn visitors to the region for generations and when it comes to things to do in Rotorua, people say that no visit is complete without exploring its spectacular thermal parks and attractions.
We were impressed and amazed by Rotorua's geothermal features which included spouting geysers, bubbling mud pools and colourful sinter terraces.
Geothermal water starts life as rainwater, which seeps down though cracks in the rock towards a heat source deep within the earth.
Hot water is less dense than cold water, so it rises and emerges at the earth’s surface, sometimes as steam or mixed with steam.
The hot water reacts with the rock it comes into contact with, and becomes enriched with dissolved minerals
In 1901 the first open prison in New Zealand was established at Waiotapu, its object was to accommodate some of the better-behaved prisoners from jails of Rotorua Lakes District.
A gang of those prisoners first discovered the clearing in which the geyser is situated and found that when they added soap to the hot water to wash their clothes, the geyser could erupt
Geysers are a rare and spectacular phenomenon, hot springs which intermittently eject jets of boiling water and steam into the air. Their name is related to the Icelandic word geysa, meaning ‘to gush or spout’
At Te Puia, Rotorua, the magma is only 6-7 kilometres below the Earth’s crust which accounts for all the activity of the surface.
Pōhutu, meaning ‘constant splashing’ in Māori the largest active geyser in the southern hemisphere , regularly erupts to a height of 15–30 metres, and sometimes much higher. Prince of Wales Feathers, previously named Te Tohu a few metres north of Pōhutu, began spurting in June 1886, after the Mt Tarawera eruption probably triggered by earthquakes.
Pōhutu is the most reliable geyser on Earth and eruptions last from a few minutes to much longer. About 15 years ago, Pōhutu erupted for over 250 days.
Pōhutu has been visited by royalty and many other famous people. However, because nearby residents used bores to tap into the valley’s geothermal resources, Pōhutu was once at grave risk of losing its power. Fortunately, a program to close bores ensured that Pōhutu continues to impress visitors once or twice an hour.
We had a fair share of looking at Pohutu erupting
Near the geyser there were rocks and our guide playfully asked us all to have a hot seat and relax our weary bodies for some time, all of us sat on the warm stones but two of our friends shot up quickly and started rubbing their backs with embarrassed grins, we came to know that these rocks also tend to have cracks conveying the heat directly to the cracks in the stones LOL!
In the 19th century there were an estimated 220 of these erupting hot springs in New Zealand, but by 2004 only 58 remained. Whakarewarewa is now the only major remaining geyser field as most of the remaining geysers have been damaged or affected by human activity, especially withdrawing steam or hot water for heating
We went past the geysers to Ngā mōkai-ā-Koko, Te Puia’s largest mud pool. The mud in this pool was dark because it contained small quantities of black sulphur .The bubbling mud was like a live thing playfully pouting and spouting mud like naughty babies do. It was mesmerising to watch and we couldn’t take our eyes off it
I was thinking maybe after I die and go to hell it would look like this with sulphur smells, gushing geysers and bubbling mud pools , anyway let me face it when it comes I thought and brushing away the morbid thought I went ahead for a look at the elusive Kiwi bird because a visit to New Zealand wouldn’t be complete without meeting the national icon.
Years ago there were about 12 million kiwi, but today there are fewer than 100,000 and this national icon is endangered.
The kiwi bird is an important cultural icon to all New Zealanders, who call themselves ‘Kiwis’. In the late 1800s, the kiwi started being used as a trademark, and featured on one of the first pictorial stamps issued.
Next we went on to the other guide our groups interchanged and we were shown around the village and centres
Te Puia houses the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, established in the 1920s to foster all aspects of Māori culture. At Te Puia, national schools of carving, weaving and other traditional arts train talented students from around New Zealand under the guidance of master crafts persons
Traditionally, weaving and carving were vital Māori arts but by the 1920 they were in danger of extinction. Established in 1926, the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute at Te Puia has seen carving, weaving and other traditional Māori art forms not only survive but thrive.
At the National Wood Carving School we could see this prestigious art form being handed down from master carvers to young trainees. We watched as students practiced this traditional Māori art .
At the National Stone and Bone Carving School students learn the revered tradition of carving pounamu (New Zealand greenstone), bone and stone. Students in this school also explore other materials and technical processes, including casting.
The flax weaving section had a very good display of woven items made from flax leaves - floor mats, grass skirts were created in a jiffy
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