Tikitapu from on high

I drove to the Blue Lake lookout to view the 150 hectare stretch of water that reached a depth of over twenty-seven metres.

Tikitapu (Blue Lake)

Tikitapu was named after the daughter of a chief who lost her sacred greenstone neck ornament. The pristine waters, located just out of Rotorua, were surrounded by a forest of tree ferns.

Te Wairoa buried Village

The following day was the first rainy day of my trip. I opened the bathroom window to let out the steam from a shower and the gassy volcanic smell of Rotorua seeped in. I found myself taking deep breaths as if addicted to the fumes.

I headed to the opposite side of Mt Tarawera from the boat cruise I took the previous day. Nearby stood the village of Te Wairoa, destroyed by Mt Tarawera’s eruption in 1886. Part of the destroyed site was excavated, revealing old Maori houses (whare), bottles, plates, and other tools of the times.