Today’s been a bit of a lost day really, or rather a lost half day. I woke with a headache – I think as a result of wandering around yesterday in the sun and not having enough to drink. Tom went off to where he can pick up wireless internet in order to post the last 2 days blogs, leaving me to have a shower and take some pills to get rid of the headache. I did feel a bit better when he returned, so we set off to the Buried Village, about 15km away. We went via Lake Okareka, but it wasn’t worth stopping, so carried on, passing the Blue and Green Lakes. There is a lookout between the 2 lakes, but unfortunately, the trees have grown since it was established and you now can’t see over them to the lakes!
The Blue Lake is so called because the white rhyolite and pumice on its bottom reflect the blue sky. The Maori name, Tikitapu, gets its name from the story of a chief’s daughter who lost her tiki, a greenstone (jade) treasure in the waters. The Green Lake is emerald green from the air because it has a shallower sandy bottom. In Maori it is called Rotokakahi, so named because of the abundance of shellfish (kakahi). In neither case is there any connection between the Maori and English names. The Blue Lake is a base for water sports but the Green Lake is tapu or sacred.
The Buried Village is the partly excavated village of Wairoa that was buried when Mt Tarawera erupted in 1886. The Smith family took it upon themselves to fund and carry out the excavation, starting in 1931 just a few days after the earthquake in Napier. The family still own the land and look after it. Some of the buildings have been reroofed to protect the interior and the original roofs now have vegetation growing in and on them.
The liquid mud that engulfed them, hardened as it cooled and has been dug away showing the depth to which they were buried.
The walk round the area is dotted with information boards and extracts from some letters written by a lady called Margaret, married to Walter. They were on their honeymoon near Wairoa when the eruption happened and she wrote to various members of her family and friends giving them her thoughts on the disaster. (One of her sisters was called Amy). She and her husband had visited the White Terraces on the banks of Lake Tarawera only a few days before. The Pink and White Terraces had been one of the first tourist attractions in NZ and were destroyed, along with two complete villages. The stories of the event and the rescue attempts are so moving. It’s hard to imagine what it was like when you walk around the area that is now so peaceful and green. There are two routes at the end of the walk – one with a superb view of the valley down to Lake Tarawera,
the other a steep descent down steps beside the Wairere stream to the bottom of the waterfall.
Then an equally steep climb back up again! Tom did the steep bit while I chickened out. When he wheezed his way back to the shop, he asked the saleslady if they sold oxygen for those that had survived the waterfall walk. The answer was No, but she gave him a certificate of achievement. (I think it’s what they give the children when they’ve done it, but she must have felt sorry for him!!)
We had planned to go on to Waimangu volcanic valley after that, but I had to call a halt and we came back to the motel. This is the first day either of us has felt under the weather so I think we’ve done very well with our activities. After taking some more painkillers, my headache finally gave up and, as there is a mineral pool here, we went and boiled our bodies in the 40deg water, but only for a very short time as it was a bit too hot! But our skin now feels all smooth – “just like a baby’s bottom” says Tom, “but without nappy rash!!”
It’s now past the time that all good people should be in bed – and me too!! Night, night.
The Blue Lake is so called because the white rhyolite and pumice on its bottom reflect the blue sky. The Maori name, Tikitapu, gets its name from the story of a chief’s daughter who lost her tiki, a greenstone (jade) treasure in the waters. The Green Lake is emerald green from the air because it has a shallower sandy bottom. In Maori it is called Rotokakahi, so named because of the abundance of shellfish (kakahi). In neither case is there any connection between the Maori and English names. The Blue Lake is a base for water sports but the Green Lake is tapu or sacred.The Buried Village is the partly excavated village of Wairoa that was buried when Mt Tarawera erupted in 1886. The Smith family took it upon themselves to fund and carry out the excavation, starting in 1931 just a few days after the earthquake in Napier. The family still own the land and look after it. Some of the buildings have been reroofed to protect the interior and the original roofs now have vegetation growing in and on them. The liquid mud that engulfed them, hardened as it cooled and has been dug away showing the depth to which they were buried. The walk round the area is dotted with information boards and extracts from some letters written by a lady called Margaret, married to Walter. They were on their honeymoon near Wairoa when the eruption happened and she wrote to various members of her family and friends giving them her thoughts on the disaster. (One of her sisters was called Amy). She and her husband had visited the White Terraces on the banks of Lake Tarawera only a few days before. The Pink and White Terraces had been one of the first tourist attractions in NZ and were destroyed, along with two complete villages. The stories of the event and the rescue attempts are so moving. It’s hard to imagine what it was like when you walk around the area that is now so peaceful and green. There are two routes at the end of the walk – one with a superb view of the valley down to Lake Tarawera, the other a steep descent down steps beside the Wairere stream to the bottom of the waterfall. Then an equally steep climb back up again! Tom did the steep bit while I chickened out. When he wheezed his way back to the shop, he asked the saleslady if they sold oxygen for those that had survived the waterfall walk. The answer was No, but she gave him a certificate of achievement. (I think it’s what they give the children when they’ve done it, but she must have felt sorry for him!!)We had planned to go on to Waimangu volcanic valley after that, but I had to call a halt and we came back to the motel. This is the first day either of us has felt under the weather so I think we’ve done very well with our activities. After taking some more painkillers, my headache finally gave up and, as there is a mineral pool here, we went and boiled our bodies in the 40deg water, but only for a very short time as it was a bit too hot! But our skin now feels all smooth – “just like a baby’s bottom” says Tom, “but without nappy rash!!”
It’s now past the time that all good people should be in bed – and me too!! Night, night.
No comments:
Post a Comment