Two Days: Sunday, June 10 and Monday, June 11

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Rotorua Museum and Government Gardens

After the late night Saturday, we slept in a bit on Sunday morning, ate a late breakfast, did a little laundry, and tried to catch up writing.  I really wanted a meat pie for lunch.  They seem common here and we had seen Jesters (We’re serious about pies!) all over.  Our camp host suggested another shop for pies, but they were closed and Jerster’s was open. Lunch was tasty; I’d definitely eat at Jester’s again. From there we wound our way through Rotorua to Government Gardens and the beautiful Rotorura Museum.  The whole area is pristine with greens down the center of the mall (we learned later they are for lawn bowling, croquet, and a French game that includes handheld balls thrown at smaller balls).  There are beautiful rose gardens, manicured lawns and venting geothermal features and boiling pools. The museum sits at the end of all this beauty and looks like a British monarch overlooking her tidy subjects. 

Walking inside was even more fantastic.  Two grand staircases lead to an upper level that looks out over the grounds.  The wooden stairs and banisters are grandly designed and frame the whole second story.  $36.00 got us a guided tour of the museum.  The grand building was once a hospital where people would come to “take the waters.”  Wealthy patrons paid $14,000 in 1906 for treatments that included mud baths, soaking in hot mineral water and soaking various and sundry body parts (feet, arms, legs, whole bodies) in water with electric current running through it.  The doctor who designed the location wisely kept the basement raised above ground level and all pipes accessible as he knew the sulphur dioxide would cause continuous damage to the pipes.  As part of the tour we went into the attic to see the structure of the building.  The doctor knew his stuff because he created a pretty advanced air return system to get rid of sulphur fumes.  On the roof was a viewing platform from which you could see the caldera of an ancient volcano that Rotorua sits in today.  The hospital was set just off Rotorua Lake and siphoned hot water from the lake and area hot water pools. Back down in the basement we observed the pipe system, hidden corners where lovers met, and treatment rooms where “patients” would soak in mud baths then be showered down with hot or cold water according to the doctor’s orders. Some pools and individual baths still remain as part of the museum. Beautiful marble sculpture that had decorated the hospital still remains, but not in pristine condition.  The hospital continued to operate until 1966.   

There was a bit of overlap when the main part of the building was taken over by a restaurant and later a night club (that genesis is also on display in pictures and videos upstairs). Today the former women’s wing houses an exceptional collection that tells the Maori story starting with their travel from Hawak’i in about 1200, to modern Maori culture (we were cautioned not to confuse modern day Hawaii with Hawak’i.  It is NOT the same place).  There was a particularly beautiful waka (canoe) on display.  The acrylic hull was divided into sections and displayed artifacts—a woven basket, an awl reportedly belonging to the first Te Awora (Maori) chief, and the anchor from their two-hulled waka.  The sail is a move screen that shows the story of the first voyage.  Our guide was very kind. It was obvious that she was a former teacher; she shared as much with as she could in 1.5 hours.  Once room was dedicated to the destruction of the village, pink and white terraces from the 1886 volcanic eruption.  Guides would take tourists across the lake to view the terraces and to sit in the water.  On one excursion, Guide Sophia and several passengers report seeing a waka filled with warriors.  Sophia recorded that as they drew closer turned into dogs.  English tourists called out to the warriors, but they did not answer and their waka disappeared as if it had not been there.  Guide Sophia went to a wise old man who was reported to have great mana (honor) and to be 100 years old. He said the vision for told of a terrible event.  A very short time later, the mountain erupted, burying the village.  The old man survived for 4 days in his hut, only to die two weeks later in a hospital. This story combined with what we learned about the origins of the Maori make me wonder about their origins and if a record is kept for them.  Another interesting room in the museum was dedicated to the Maori warriors who fought in World War I and II.  Like many other indigenous people, they were kept separate from their white counterparts.  Over and over they proved their valor and fearlessness, yet they were still segregated.  Same story, different country.  A twenty-minute video capped off the museum tour.  After spending a few minutes in the gift shop, we closed down the whole place! In fact we rushed out so quickly that I forgot my backpack which had been checked at the desk!  We toured the beautiful grounds and then headed back to the holiday park.  After dinner we took a long soak in the hot mineral pool, showered, made plans for our next day and went to bed.  Another great day!

(There were no pictures allowed in the Moari collection)

Monday, June 11, 2012

Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, Rotorura

Up at 7:00 a.m., a fast shower, breakfast and a little more writing and we were out of our spot and headed back to the museum to get my backpack.  On the way out we stopped to book one more night at the camp ground and our trip on White Island Tours, a boat ride to White Island which is an active volcano! I’m so excited about that trip!!

The museum was open by the time we got there.  We decided to use our vouchers from the previous day to view the exhibits we had skipped during our tour and spend a little more time in the Maori wing.  There was a display of costumes from the New Zealand Ballet Company and some graphic art by NZ artists, many of whom work a the Weta Workshop in Wellington, the company responsible for work on movies like the Lord of the Rings, King Kong, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Hobbit.  I found my favorite among those works:  garden gnomes in battle!  We got so much more out of the Maori exhibit because we had time to reread and absorb what we’d heard. We grabbed a quick bite of lunch and then headed to our next stop:  Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland!

Rotorua sits in the caldera of an ancient volcano, which is due to blow very soon.  I asked a couple people if there was a disaster plan to deal with the impending eruption.  They replied, “It will be so bad, there won’t be time to do anything.”  I think of that way too often in this beautiful valley.  There are geothermal features everywhere, but 23 km south of town is a park filled with colorful (and stinky) features. 

This little park has three trails and 25 different features.  Each is unique and mysterious, shrouded in sulphurous steam.  The full trail is about 3 km and is beautiful.  It takes you past each feature.  Florescent yellow dominates. 

 However, at the end of the trail closest to the welcome centers, the Devil’s Bath is an unusual, florescent green! The water from the area runs off into a green lake.  The Champaign Pool is 62 m deep.  Water starts it journey below the surface at 212 degrees C.  As it rises to the top, it cools to 100 degrees C ( 212 degrees F!).  Tiny vents are everywhere; you can hear water bubbling and popping and steam rises from the middle of the forest.  It was a great walk!  On our way out of the park, we met some fellow American’s from Florida and had a nice visit with them.  The last stop out of the park was at the boiling mud pots.  By that time, the sun was going down and it was turning cold! We walked out to the spot, said, “Yep, that’s boiling mud,” and jumped back into the toasty warm camper.

After grocery shopping, we settled back into the campground.  While our dinner cooked we packed out backpacks to be ready for tomorrow.  Then we quickly at our soup and headed over for a soak in the hot mineral pool.  Even though it smells like suphur, it’s well worth it to soak in the hot water.  Worst of all is getting out to head to the shower!

Random Thoughts:

·      We say two women walking on the trail wearing turtle neck sweaters, scarves and wool coats.  I was wearing a cardigan sweater over a cami, Jim had on a long sleeve shirt.  It’s cold here, but not that cold. 

·      Isn’t it funny how we gravitate to the people from whom we hear our own dialect.  The people on the trail from Florida said, “We can tell you’re from the US,” (they thought we were from Alabama…hmmm). 

·      This is a beautiful place, but always in the back of my mind is the idea that they’re due for another eruption…soon.