8th April - Rotorua 2 - Waimangu
Aurora_b
Mike and Liz Downing
Wed 20 Apr 2011 10:32
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In the afternoon it was on to the Volcanic Valley of
Waimangu - a walk/hike down a volcanic valley that was only created in 1886 when
Mt Tarawera at the end of the valley erupted.The walk is about 4km downhill
through forest and leads down to a big lake, Lake
Rotomahana, passing more craters and small lakes
(including Frying Pan Lake - all hot and steamy), streams with boiling
water pools all along their banks and sinter terraces. The Pink and White
Terraces were once visible here and known as the 8th wonder of the world
until covered by the Lake Rotomahana when the volcano erupted. There is a
detour on the walk that's a hiking track and takes you up along the rims of
several craters. It's all forested so not possible to see in the craters, but
the views down and across the valley are great. It was only when half way
along the track that we realised it was a bit longer than we thought and we
needed to get a move on to make certain we got to the lake before the last
bus back up the valley. If we missed it, it would be a 4km uphill slog all the
way back. Not what we wanted at the end of the day. This wasn't to be the only
time during the trip that catching the last bus was
important! Unlike Wai-O-Tapu, there was hardly anyone else
here, so no one to pace ourselves against. But not a problem, we made it
with 10 minutes to spare.
 Looking down the lush valley with Mt
Tarawera in the distance.
 The Inferno Crater - one of the hot steaming lakes, and
steaming hillside.
 And another - Echo Crater and Frying Pan Lake. What looks like
a waterfall
is a plume of steam.
 A stream left the hot lakes at the top and meandered,
sometimes cascading, down the valley to the big
Lake Rotomahana at the bottom. The track followed the stream to
the lake.
 All manner of bubbling water, colours, and vents had formed
along the stream's bank.
  All quite unreal!
   The detour via the hiking track - this is at the end of the
track, going back
down to rejoin the main track along the stream. Wooden steps
like these are not
uncommon. The NZ DoC (Department of Conservation) go
to great trouble
and expense to create and maintain good walking tracks all
across the country.
 Above and below - not snow, but a sinter (silica)
platform.
  Lake Rotomahana at the end of the valley. The crater that can
be seen on the side of Mt Tarawera
is where the eruption took place in
1886.
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