Pohutu Geyser

We had slept in a parking lot on the edge of Rotorua. From here we saw an occasional cloud of geyser steam rise above the buildings. We didn't have far to go to see this great geyser, the Pohutu geyser. We had learned not to follow the herds. They went into the volcanic "theme park", on boardwalks around the geysers. But we had learned about a mountainbike trail above the back of the park that gave a great birds-eye view of the whole area.

The geyser was steaming continuously. But once in a while, you could see hot water gushing out. The water quickly flashed and more steam would rise up into the air. We sat for an hour as the geyser revved up and calmed down again. Rotorua spread out behind it, with Lake Rotorua in the background.

But with hot water coming out of the ground, there is more to see than just geysers. The heat allows thermophillic (heat loving) bacteria of all sorts of colours to grow. And the minerals brought up by the steam create all sorts of hues in the water. So our next hike was at the rainbow lakes. A steady walk took us along two deep emerald green lakes. And the steaming exposed rocks in the mountain side bled an ochre red colour against the white stone and green forest.

We climbed all the way to the top to enjoy a 360° view of the area. For as far as you could see, bright green, grassy Hobbit hills spread in every direction!Read more