November 16, Friday

November 16, Friday

Checked out of the motel in Napier by 10 am and walked along the shoreline of Hawke Bay Pics of Napier  Located on Hawke Bay

 Millennium Sculpture, just across from the motel where I am staying

 The shoreline of Hawke Bay, leading into Napier

 Looking back the other way at the motel lined street, with the big pine trees that helped me find my way yesterday afternoon.

 Hos cute is this sign?

 Public Toilets ! ! !   You gotta love it.

Napier has its own "painted ladies".

 Sunken Gardens

 Tourist Information Office

 Sound Shell and Colonnade.  I'm starting to see that "ART DECO" style

Napier was reduced to rubble by a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 1931. When the city was rebuilt, it was all done in an Art Deco style.

I then crossed Breakwater Road and turned in to wander around the town’s downtown streets.
The Napier War Memorial

 Even the shop windows have "art deco" items for sale


 
 Love the soft pastel colours and even the art deco motifs in the sidewalks

 
 Even this little church has little Art Deco motifs

 Huge tree in one of the downtown parks.  It dwars the cars parked under it.

 Can't really tell if the houses on the hill are Art Deco.  They don't look it.
On my walk back to the motel, I passed a shop that specialized in clothing made of “Opposum Merino Wool”. Too strange! And it's located in one of the "Painted Ladies" houses.

Even some of the motels are in an Art Deco Style.

I only had 223 kms to cover today.  I drove North on route # 2 towards Lake Taupo.  The first part of the route was over mountains; it is a country of mountains, some jagged, some rounded and covered in green pastures or giant pine trees.   

 Between Napier and Lake Taupo


I arrive in Lake Taupo and make my way to the shore


 is
  Lake Taupo with Mt Tongariro (1968m) & Mt Ruapehu (2797m) in background
"With a surface area of 616 square kilometres, Lake Taupo is the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand, and the second largest freshwater lake in Oceania.  It has a perimiter of approximately 193 kilometres, a deepest point of 186 metres."

I drove up to the Lookout Point (which did not have much of a better view) then continued on to Huka Falls.  From the parking lot, I followed a cement path to the falls and on to the other side of the river and down stream to get more photos

The top portion of  Huka Falls: “From lake Taupo comes the Waikato River, NZ’s longest river runs 425 kms to the sea, south of Auckland. The river at Huka Falls is confined by hard geothermally-altered rock. Over time it has carved a channel about 15 meters wide and 10 metres deep.” 

 The bottom portion of Huka Falls.  They aren't really falls, more like rapids.

 but they do drop a few feet back into the river.
I walked back to the parking lot, but couldn't understand why we could not have a view of the falls from further away.  I walked past my car to the other end of the parking lot.  YES,  another path, but this one isn't as well maintained.

 Met a few people on their mountain bikes as I followed the path.  It seemed to be going in the right direction, but I had to walk quite a way before I started hearing the rush of the water.

Now, that's a great view.  Actually it is more than a few feet drop back into the river.  And I've got a view of the people on the other side, on the path I just walked.   Bonus, as I was taking pictures a jet boat arrived on the river, drove up into the white water and turned around again.

I made my way back to the car and continued on my journey to the nearby Craters of the Moon: 

 As I wound my way up the mountain to the Craters of the moon, I stopped to take this picture of a clear cut forest.  You can see the line of pine trees remaining below.



 
“Thermal activity is common in New Zealand because it lies on the edge of two colliding tectonic plates, the Pacific and the Indo-Australian Plates. The Pacific Plate is pushed downward beneath the North Island and the deeper it goes, the hotter it gets. Sometimes a large pool of magma builds up and, like a massive oven, heats underground water to incredible temperatures. The superheated water rises rapidly through a network of faults. Close to the surface, it starts to boil and produce steam. The result: steam vents, hot springs, mud pools and geysers.”


As I walk around the huge site on the wooden boardwalks, I realize that I’m actually walking inside an ancient volcanic crater.  “The two craters last erupted in September 2002; it was the biggest eruption in a decade.”  HMMMM. It’s been a decade since then !

We are given strict instructions to stay on the marked tracks and boardwalks and not to venture off of them since it can result in burns to your feet and legs.  We were told to allow 45 minutes to walk around the loop.  I opted out of the side loop up a steep hill to get a view of the entire area.  It was simply too steep for me, although there were stairs on the other side. 

I returned to the parking lot, got in the car, and continued on my route to Rotorua on Highway # 5.

Horse riding, just before I got back on the highway

 Along the route I pass huge pine forests.  Obviously replanted years ago since the trees are all in neat rows.

The road is also filled with trucks carrying HUGE logs.

I was able to easily locate B-K’s Motel on Victoria Street; great location with shops nearby and can walk downtown to the Restaurants.

Those lazy boy chairs reclined.  SO COMFORTABLE.  And I'm staying here 2 nights.

 I have already booked a visit to Te Puia for tomorrow; a Maori Cultural Centre.

They announced on the 6 pm news:  Mount Ruapehu could erupt at any time.  HMMMM  I wonder where that mountain is located?  Checked it out on the internet.   OH OH !   

“Mount Ruapehu is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is 23 kms southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park. The North Island's major ski fields and only glaciers are on its slopes.

Ruapehu is one of the world's most active volcanoes and the largest active volcano in New Zealand. It is the highest point in the North Island and includes three major peaks: Tahurangi (2,797 m), Te Heuheu (2,755 m) and Paretetaitonga (2,751 m). The deep, active crater is between the peaks and fills with a crater lake between major eruptions.  Between major eruptions, a warm acidic crater lake forms, fed by melting snow. Major eruptions may completely expel the lake water. Where a major eruption has deposited a tephra dam across the lake's outlet, the dam may collapse after the lake has refilled and risen above the level of its normal outlet, the outrush of water causing a large lahar. “  “ On 16 November 2012, GNS Science volcanologists warned that pressure was likely building up beneath Crater Lake, and that an eruption in the coming weeks or months is more likely than normal. We think that the temperature a few hundred metres beneath Crater Lake is about 800C, but the lake itself is only about 20C.  This suggests the vent is partly blocked which may be leading to a pressure build-up beneath Crater Lake.   A sudden release of the pressure may lead to an eruption.”

Guess what?  I’ve got pictures of Mount Ruapehu with my photos of Lake Taupo! 

Guess what else?  The North Island has 8 major volcanoes, and 7 of them are in the area I’m visiting for the next 6 days!  I’m about 100 km north of the volcano now, so I don’t think I REALLY need to worry about lava flows; it wasn’t that of an eruption,  but a volcanic eruption could unleash an earthquake, and who knows what else that could unleash.  Maybe I need to start retaking my anti-anxiety medication!

Recent news also spoke about newly found fault lines in the ocean surrounding New Zealand and indicating that movement on these fault lines could cause Tsunamis.  Oh my! 

Marjo: Are you sure you want to come and live in New Zealand?