Playing in a Caldera

 

In the Frying Pan (Caldera)

Sunday, March 27

Ever wonder about the sense of people who live with the knowledge that their world may change in an instant from volcanoes and earthquakes, where the evidence of cataclysm is all around and yet they stay and build as if there is nothing to worry about? That is Rotorua and its environs, where the air smells of sulfur and the lake water steams from vents beneath the surface. The Te Arawa people adapted, appreciating the warm earth in winter, cooking their food in hot water, bathing in the warm water. Birds didn't need sit on their nests to keep eggs warm. When Europeans discovered this area with geysers, boiling mud, and warm mineral pools, tourism and the health spa business took off. However one night in 1886, Mount Tarawera erupted, destroying the beautiful Pink and White Terraces and terrifying Maori and Europeans alike. The Original Bath House now the Rotorua Museum is next to the Government Gardens, where croquet is still played.

Yesterday, we hiked in a downpour in the Craters of the Moon (on the road from Lake Taupo to Rotorua). This active volcanic site resulted from the construction of the Waitakei geothermal power station which changed the underground water dynamics. Warnings were frequent: stay on the paths, don't step into a fumarole. Steam was everywhere, more so because of the rain.

We strolled along the lake in Rotorua this Sunday afternoon in the sunshine, observing residents and tourists alike, there in the caldera. We did not see all the spectacular geothermal sites. Perhaps some day we will bravely return, trusting we will not be caught by some natural disaster.