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New Zealand's Thermal Wonderland
Nick Sault

Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand, but you may think it a puddle compared with the American great lakes until you realize that its nearly 200 square miles were created in an instant 1800 years ago by one of the largest volcanic eruptions in historic times. In spite of this, the lake is now serenely quiet, and home to some of the sweetest rainbow trout in the world.

Taupo town sits on the north shore of the lake in just about the center of New Zealand's North Island It has plenty of first class accommodation, many of the motels on the lake having their own hot spas. This is New Zealand's thermal region. The motel we stayed at had rooms each with its own huge spa bath en suite, filled naturally from Earth's interior. After a day hooking 7 LB rainbows on the lake, you can languish in sensuous luxury in your own naturally heated spa, sipping New Zealand's wonderful sparkling wine (alas, the French's won't let us call it champagne).

It's easy to hire a boat to go fishing, whatever your skill level. If you don't fish, just take a boat anyway. The views are terrific, with the southern end of the lake overshadowed by New Zealand's still active volcanoes that have romantic Maori names like Ngauruhoe, Tongariro and Ruapehu. Taupo is not a big town, but has ample restaurants and bars.

Taupo is thermal country, but go 50 miles north for the most famous thermal town, Rotorua. This place is also one of the largest Maori strongholds, and if you want to savor what Rotorua is all about, you just have to visit the Whakarewarewa village. (The "Wh" sound is a kind of cross between an "F" and a "W", and the unpronounceable village is called Whaka for short.)

Whaka village is not hard to find. You will see it as soon as you drive into Rotorua, because its many vents permanently spew clouds of vapor. This is a village where the Maori not only live side by side with the thermal activity, but live off it. A huge Maori guide, with a huge personality to match, showed us around. The cottages and streets are interspersed with boiling, bubbling holes in the ground. The Maori residents of Whaka cook with Earth's furnace, heat their homes with it, wash their clothes in it and bathe in the luxurious warm healthy water that pours out of the ground free of charge.

The tour includes an outdoor show of Maori music and dance, and is capped off at the eating house where you can savor delicious food cooked in nature's cooking pot. All over the Rotorua region you can experience the wonder of the geysers, bubbling mud pools and Maori culture, but Whaka is a place where you have all these things in one place.

This region is not only a thermal wonderland, but is the Lakes District of New Zealand's North Island. Rotorua has its own lake, which almost rivals Taupo for the facilities it has to offer, but the most dramatic lake is Tarawera because it is overshadowed by its own Vesuvius. Mt. Tarawera blew its top at the end of the 19th century and devastated some of the Maori settlements in the area. You can visit the village of Te Wairoa which was buried during the eruption and only recently excavated. Apart from the wonder of the resurrected village, there are some beautiful bush walks and waterfalls in the area.

For a small price you can take a tour across the lake where the local Maori tell you a mixture of legend and fact about the mountain. And nobody tells stories as well these big-bodied and big humored people whose laughter pours forth as easy as the steam issues from the ground. Also in the Tarawera region, look for the Blue Lake and the Green Lake. Only half a mile apart, the two lakes are strikingly different colors.

This whole region of lakes and thermal parks, which includes Taupo to the south, is a natural wonderland, but there is also no shortage of thrill events. Look for jet boat rides on the Waikato river at Taupo, try the dreaded bunjy jump, or really blow your mind driving an off road 4x4 on a bush safari.

There are dozens of gentler attractions, like riding the gondola up the hills to get the best views of Rotorua's thermal valley or doing it on horseback with one of the excellent horse trekking operations. If you are a golfer, there are some spectacular courses in the area, or if you want even gentler, you can take lunch or dinner on Lake Rotorua's riverboat, the Lakeland Queen.

The thermal region countryside is cloaked with subtropical forest that locals call bush, and which provides many fantastic nature walks. But the inescapable personality of the region is the feeling that here the Earth is alive. Everywhere there is that reminder that not far below your feet, the Earth's mantle is bubbling and boiling. To visit some of the many thermal parks in the region is a must - they provide an amazing side-by-side mixture of lush, fertile landscape and blasted, tortured terrain.

Nick Sault

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