Saturday, 20th January 2018
Lo and behold! This morning we woke up to just cloudy skies and the forecast was that there was no rain today!! Of course fingers crossed that this would be true! Again a healthy breakfast: Greek yoghurt with muesli, berries and banana followed by a slice of toasted German cumin bread with cheese and accompanied by a mug of tea (mine English style with milk!)
By the time we had showered and were ready to leave there were more blue patches in the sky – perhaps we thought we would be lucky today and have a rain free day. Our itinerary for today was as follows:
- The Aratiatia Rapids
- The Thermal Valley Walkway
- Wairakei Terraces and Thermal Health Spa
- Wairakei Geothermal Power Station
If you click on each bullet point you will be linked into the site that would give you more in depth information . All these activities were close to our resort so we reached our first activity within 15 minutes of setting off.
The Aratiatia Rapids was a spectacular part of the Waikato River until the Kiwi Government built a hydro-electric dam across the waterway and shut off the flow. However the spectacle hasn’t disappeared completely as the flood gates which are built into the dam are opened periodically during the day to let the water flow down to the river. We were lucky enough to arrive on the spot about 15 minutes to 12 o’clock and we could watch the whole spectacle. Actually I stood on the bridge to watch the flood gates activities and Gerry walked up a pathway to a vantage point to watch the river bed fill up with the rushing waters. It was just magnificent! Just before noon, the siren sounded to warn that the flood gates would be opened – the first siren blast was 5 minutes, then another blast at 2 minutes and then when the flood gates and the Aratiatia Rapids gushed through the narrow gorge filling up with turbulent water surging past at up to 90,000 litres per second.
The Geothermal Valley is situated in a traditional Kiwi campsite complete with its own thermal garden, hot pools and petting zoo. We first had coffee at the camp cafe and booked the walkway which was approximately a 45 minutes walk, which included the main attractions, including natural steam vents, bubbling mud pools and geysers, on a site next door to a geothermal power plant. The walk was pleasant and although yesterday we had visited the Crater of the Moon, we saw other aspects here such a little river running parallel to the steaming vents. Of course had loads of opportunities to take pictures here and sometimes Gerry did get off the pathway to make sure that the notices were right!
Because the Geothermal Valley is close to the Power Station which is fed from hydroelectric dam, we decided to follow the huge pipe network to the top of the hill to get a good view of the whole network.
Wairakei Power Station uses steam extracted from the geothermal fluid produced in this steam field to generate electricity. Already in the 1950’s exploratory wells were dug and currently there are 60 wells in production. Wells go as deep as 2000 meters to tap into hot fluid which when brought to the surface is separated into dry steam and hot water. This power plant has been in production since 1958 and generates renewable steam and sustainable energy. When we drove up to the hill following the pipelines, we were not the only ones there – most interesting to see young people as well as families showing interest in NZ’s sustainability policies.
Our last stop for the day was at the Wairakei terraces and Thermal Health Spa. Mineral laden waters from the Wairakei geothermal steam field cascade over silica terraces into pools. So we decided after these last few busy days spent sightseeing, we were ready to soak in all those minerals in a therapeutic bath. However before we got into the baths, we went for a walk around the Terraces Walkway. This walkway features a recreated Maori village, carvings showing the Maori history, and artificially made geysers and silica terraces, echoing on a smaller scale, the Pink and White Terraces that were destroyed by the Tarawera eruption in 1886.
Ending the day in hot, mineral laden baths was pure luxury and to complete this the sun was out to warm us up with its afternoon rays. After a couple of hours, we got changed and made our way back to our resort and I thought to get along and start writing up my blog – but our WIFI failed me once more – so Gerry went off to complain and finally it was fixed so that I could finish off today’s blog.
Tomorrow, we will be heading for a 2 day stay at Rotorua and here I am looking forward to seeing more about the Maori culture.
