Insight Guides New Zealand by Insight Guides

Author:Insight Guides
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Travel, New Zealand
Publisher: Apa Publications
Published: 2018-06-19T16:00:00+00:00

Hot springs and mineral pools at Hanmer Springs, a town in the Canterbury region.

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Insight: Thermal wonders of Rotorua

This strange, steamy landscape of bubbling springs and mud pools, saturated in Maori lore and history, has been attracting tourists for more than a century.

Rotorua has been a top tourist resort for decades. A century ago genteel folk came to the spa from all over the world to promenade and take the waters. So it’s a little surprising to learn that New Zealanders call the town ‘Stinkville’ and ‘Rotten Egg Town’. All becomes clear when you take your first breath of the sulphur-laden mist, but you’ll soon forget the odour as you explore the surreal steamy surroundings. Every geyser, every spring, it seems, has a curious name with a story attached. The Lobster Pool in Kuirau Park is so named because of the shade its acidic waters tinted fair European skins, and a concentrically ringed mud pool is charmingly named ‘Gramophone Record Pool’.

Lunar rebirth

One of these stories relates to the moon. Rotorua’s healing waters have been described as ‘Wai-ora-a-Tane’ (Living Water of Tane), where according to Maori legend the dying moon bathes each month in the great mythical lake of Aewa. Here, she receives the gift of life to sustain her on her journey through the heavens.

It’s important to obey the signposts and keep to the paths in this region, where the earth is a bit less stable than most of us are used to. The thermal pools may look tempting, but some of them are boiling hot or highly acidic. If your vision gets blocked by steam, stand still until it clears – don’t stagger on blindly.

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