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| Wai-O-Tapu Geothermal Park, New Zealand |
“The Devil's Garden” is the best way to describe the landscape. We choose one of the smaller parks located around Rotorua. Wai-O-Tapu costs just half as much as the nearby Valley Te Puia Park, which runs $90 NZ per person. Wai-O-Tapu isn’t as crowded (though it was almost too much for me, but that was probably also because we visited the park on a Sunday).
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| Champagne Lake, New Zealand |
The park has three loop trails that are interconnected, offering every visitor a route tailored to their needs. Of course, we enjoyed the full experience and walked all the way to Lake Waikaukau. Yellow sulfur oozes out everywhere along the edges of the trails, and it smells like rotten eggs. It’s a miracle that plants can grow here at all. There aren’t many, but at least there are a few shrubs that defy nature.
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| Sulfur prevents almost any vegetation from growing |
The main attraction is the so-called Champagne Pool. It gets its name from the rising bubbles, which resemble those in a champagne glass. The bubbles are caused by carbon dioxide rising from the depths of the crater. The lake is 62 meters deep, and the water at the surface is 74°C. At a depth of 250 meters, the water temperature is already 150°C, and water rises from the lake’s deep source at a temperature of 230°C. The crater is 700 years old, and whenever I see something like this, I always wonder, "When is the next eruption?" The second-to-last eruption was so massive that its effects were felt in the air as far away as China. However, there were probably no people there at the time who could have noticed it. During the last eruption, rock was ejected at a speed of 600–900 km/h. So you definitely wouldn’t want to be standing right next to it if another eruption were to occur. In the meantime, we enjoy the colors and marvel once again at the wonders of nature.
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| Poison Green Lake |
In Auckland, we take a short break and visit a German butcher shop. We actually find white sausages here. I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but for me—having grown up so close to the Bavarian border—they’re a real treat, especially with Händlmaier mustard. But other sausage products that are only available in Germany are also on offer here. A German baker even delivers the bread to go with them. Unfortunately, only from Monday to Wednesday. After a short stay, we continue on to Pakiri. Here, we’ve once again rented a place on a farm.
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| Country Life in Pakiri, New Zealand |
Pakiri is named after the Māori chief Te Kiri. He owned all the land along the coast from Takapuna to Mangawhai. Te Kiri freed a group of Māori who had been captured during the Waikato War and held on Kawau Island and led them back to Pakiri (Kiri’s pa). Te Kiri had a daughter named Rahui. Many stories were told about her, particularly regarding her swimming skills. In 1890, the New Zealand government requisitioned Hauturu to establish the first nature reserve. Rahui was so upset by the loss of Hauturu that she returned to the island three times to reclaim her dominion. On one occasion, she swam 39 kilometers from the mainland to do so. Rahui died in 1930 at the age of 100.
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| Freddy the Boar in Pakriri, New Zealand |
At the farm, I meet Tim. Tim is the project manager of a kiwi conservation project. Over the past few years, 50 birds have been released here and fitted with transmitters. Kiwis are listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List and are New Zealand’s national bird. They were nearly wiped out by the Māori and the first settlers. In 1896, hunting kiwis was banned, and the animals have been protected since 1921. Despite all this, the kiwi remains endangered. Dogs, foxes, and martens brought over by Europeans are particularly hard on the kiwi. The possum, which is often seen run over on New Zealand’s roads, also continues to decimate the kiwi population. That’s why, according to Tim, trap management is extremely important. Tim tells me that without the traps, only 6% of the young survive. With traps, the survival rate is at least 60%. It’s also interesting that the females are larger than the males and that the kiwi lays one of the largest eggs in the bird world. The kiwi’s legs are positioned so far back that it should actually fall over. However, it supports itself with its long beak. Unfortunately, the animals are very sensitive to noise and nocturnal, so they are rarely seen.
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| Gaby with the dog pack in Pakiri, New Zealand |
We haven’t seen a kiwi yet (I mean the bird, of course). But maybe we’ll spot one someday. Next week, after three months away, we’ll be heading back to the boat. We’re really looking forward to it and hope everything’s okay. So we’ll check in again next time from Whangarei. Until then, fair winds and keep a stiff upper lip.
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