Soon after 08:00 we were sitting in a hot spring stream in a volcanic zone at a conjunction with the Waikato River in Spa Park. The water, naturally heated by geothermal activity, was about 60 degrees and pure delight! We enjoyed the experience for half an hour, accompanied by two Scandinavians, before leaving for our 4x4 quad bike explorer adventure!
We had booked ourselves on to a 2 hour explorer safari with Taupo Quads just outside Taupo. After a safety briefing and an introduction to the machines we donned hard hats and set off!
It was a little daunting at first, the gear changes aren't particularly smooth and being automatic gears without a clutch you can't do much about it. We were told to go down a track, one by one, in first gear, applying no gas and no brakes, in order to familiarise ourselves with the bike and to trust it. Once you convince yourself that it can't go any faster than it begins to you realise it is quite tame so long as you don't get over confident. Our guide John, the proprietor, was an extremely good natured guy and took my camera from me so he could take pictures of us through the course. On a couple of occasions he surprised me by appearing in front of me and encouraging me to tear through the mud and puddles so he could get a picture, not that I needed any encouragement... I was caked in mud from head to toe by the time we returned to base!
The bikes were fairly quick. I managed to reach 20 km/h on occasions although the steep descents and tight corners often dictated a slower speed of 10 km/h. On the ascent I managed to go completely wrong and ploughed through a taped fence, realised my mistake and did a u-turn, gave instructions to two other quad riders, replaced the taped fence and moved off in the right direction! Then I raced off through puddle after puddle to find my engine had begun to steam. I stopped, cut the engine, leaped off the bike and abandoned it for a couple of minutes to let the engine cool down. I guessed it was steaming due to being hot when I lunged it in to a puddle, which John later confirmed to me when I volunteered the information to him at the summit, where he had flasks of tea and biscuits ready for us.
On the way down I managed to take a few photographs of views and tracks and John got a couple of pictures of Ian and I as we hugged a tight corner. I was sorry when the adventure drew to a close and it was time to depart as it was a wonderful experience and terrific fun, an experience we will definately repeat. I reckon my dad and brother, two keen go-karting champions, would enjoy it very much. It's a little bit like go-karting but with less danger.
We moved on to Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland where I was back in a dreamland enjoying all of the fantastic rich colours of crater formations and lakes. The air was rich with pungent sulphur and there was so much to look at! The area was so vast and fortunately there weren't too many tourists around. The colours of the lakes are unbelievable and vary so much from one to another. The temperatures are above 60 degrees and often there are bubbling pools making gulping noises, some boiling, others releasing carbon dioxide. I am amazed how everything so colourful can be so natural and am in awe of geothermal activity!
The only thing missing from todays thermal experience is sightings of geysers. However, on enquiring, I was informed that Lady Knox Geyser erupts at 10:15 each day. She can be found just up the road so we planned to return in the morning. Also located near the geyser are the largest themally active mud pools in the area.
They were stunning. Absolutely delicious. I could stay and watch them for days! The mud pools make such a wonderful sound: gulping; bubbling; splashing; popping; squelching. It's lovely! [Editors Note: listen to the mud pools here!]. I took numerous pictures, obviously, and look forward to returning to them tomorrow! They are comical to watch, so unnatural, yet completely natural! We drove to Rotorua where we stay for one night and made a short journey to visit Tikitapu Lake, Rotokakahi Lake and Tarawera Lake, all fairly decent sized lakes, before resting in our very comfortable double room with ensuite for the evening. A luxury and a bargain at only NZD 49!
Today we travelled 151 kilometres from Taupo to Rotorua.
The evening sky was dominated by a striking brilliant red sunset. It was remarkable but faded before I could capture it on film.
Copyright 2002 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.