Following the white water rafting, we all had a nice roadside lunch/picnic and traveled on to the Orakei korako Cave and Thermal Park. This was the beginning of the Middle Earth Yang, having left the Middle earth Yin far, far behind. I have always been a fan of Dante Alighieri's poem,The Divine Comedy, particularly the first part, Dante's Inferno (the poet's up front and personal tourist's view of Hell). While walking through this site I could not decide whether I was in Dante's Inferno or LOTR's Mordor. The weather was just overcast enough on this day to lend an eerie pallor to the proceedings, augumented by the incredible smell of sulfur everywhere. Unfortunately, there was too much upward climbing for JoeAnn to handle, so she stayed behind and relaxed in the tourist center while we three explored the site, and what a site it was. Truly Hellish, nightmarish, and fascinating. I have included pictures of some of the signs that describe the photos that follow. The English language version is in the lower left hand corner of the signs.
Lunch by Lake Rotoiti. You gotta eat!
As we traveled on to Hell, we saw many plums of geothermal activity like this one throughout the region.
The tourist center where we start our journey to the park.
Where we're going by ferry on the other side of the lake.
WELCOME TO HELL! This is what first greeted us as we stepped off the ferry that took us across Lake Ohakuri to the park. We have been sooo impressed with the management of New Zealand's incredible park system. The thermal park has elaborate walkway and designated paths throughout the entire park. I was unprepared for the size of this park. It was clear that the walkway and paths were very necessary to insure that tourists would not stray into areas that could mean almost sure death or, at the very least, serious injury.
How surprising particularly for Jody to find a lake bed in the shape of the African continent.
Looks like snow, doesn't it? Actually, it's sulfur and other chemicals.
One would definitely not want to fall into one of these smoking pits.
"Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble."
This gave a whole new meaning to Hot Tub and "soda fountain."
While we were running around elsewhere in the park, JoeAnn got this picture of the geyser erupting from her vantage point across the lake. We missed it.
Two hours later, we return from our trek around the park and find JoeAnn waiting amidst the smoking ruins..
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