We were up early and visited Reg's son Steven and his partner Karen at their house and then headed out to Waikite Valley. It was about a 40 minute drive and absolutely beautiful. Rolling hills and mountains and lots of rock formations. Our destination was the mineral springs at Waikite Valley. The hot springs are natural and have been a destination for families for many years. We were going to have lunch there, but hamburgers were $17.50 so we split a large order of chips with sour cream and salsa.
The pools were of various temperatures and very relaxing. I drove for the first time on our way back to Rotorua. The steering wheel is on the right and you drive on the left. I kept telling myself “on the left, on the left” all the way home. The trickiest part of the driving is turning, as you automatically want to go into the wrong lane and round-a-bouts.
For centuries 100% pure natural geothermal waters of Waikite Valley have brought comfort and relief to man and beast alike. First the people of Ngati Kahu Upoko and Tuhorangi valued the curative properties of these waters and surrounding areas and was known then as Paparata (earth doctor).
One of the first Europeans to have visited the Waikite Valley was Ferdinand Von Hochstester a famous Austrian geologist and botanist. He came to New Zealand on the Novarus expedition in 1859 and commented on the vast quantites of crystal clear boiling water. Also a book written in the 1870's called "The Natural Wonders of New Zealand and Maori Land" made mention of Waikite Valley as "A spot that one of these days will be selected by some members of the lost tribes as a central sanatorium for restoring health and reinvigorating jaded mortals from all parts of the world"
In 1969 the local community put a proposal to the then County Council of Rotorua to build a Thermal pool. permission was subsequently granted and after a lot of various fund raising efforts and approximately 4000 hours of volunteer labour the pools were officially opened in July 1972.
Te Manaroa spring has the largest discharge of boiling water in New Zealand, whereby boiling water is discharged at a rate of between 40 - 50 litres per second at a temperature of 98 degrees Celsius. The depth of the spring is unknown but it is generally thought by geologists that the Waikite Valley system is hydro logically connected to the near-by Wai-o-tapu geothermal field by way of an underground cold water river that then combines with the main column of deeper bicarbonate laden, higher temperature geothermal fluids before discharging itself here in the Waikite Valley. It is also thought the springs are barometrically controlled hence when there is low air pressure Te Manaroa is more active and when there is high air pressure Te Manaroa is less active
Ahhhhh... this feels good!
I think Reg has been hanging around me too much!
On Saturday afternoon we went back into town to check out church times for Sunday. When we got down town, I kept noticing this awful smell, sort of like rotten eggs. I finally said to Reg “What the heck did you eat that is fouling up the air?” He laughed and told me about the hot sulfur springs that are located all over downtown Rotorua. Weather conditions including wind determine whether you smell the sulfur or not. Some businesses use the hot springs to heat their buildings during the winter.
We had cook out at Larraine and Mikes on Saturday night and were joined by Jane and Andy. Jane manages the Rotorua library. We had very strong thunderstorms on Saturday afternoon and even some hail.
View from the top of "Thorne Hill" looking down into Rotorua and Lake Rotorua
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