Rotorua is the thermal capital of New Zealand, a well-established tourist area with lots of outdoor activities, and a center of Maori culture and cultural opportunities for tourists. We discovered this in spades when we stopped at a tourist site outside of Taupo on our drive from Napier. Seeing some interesting pipes we ventured into Wairakei geothermal power station that uses the hot water springs over a several acre site. Amazingly we were able to drive completely through the area under some of the expansion pipes carrying steam and hot water to the generating plant. The 4-km pipeline requires these expansions every few hundred meters to prevent the changing temperatures from expanding too much and exploding. The pipes expand and contract as much as 15 meters over that length of pipe. We drove up to an overlook that gave us a great view of the operation, but chose to pass up the spa that is at the entrance to the area.
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| A view of the spa using the same steam |
We also spend some time at nearby Huka Falls. The Wairakei River narrows from 100 meters to canyon only 15 meters wide. The huge volume of water drops slowly over about 100 meters ending with an 11 meter drop creating a spectacular sight. Jetboats take passengers into the mist created by the falls while the rest of us walk the riverside path marveling and the volume of water rushing through the narrow canyon.
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| Huka Falls |
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| A short 30 minute ride includes several swings close to the falls. |
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| One of several viewing spots |
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