Waiotapu

Today, 6th February, is Waitangi day - NZs national day. 175 years ago 39 Maori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi which basically handed NZ over to Queen Victoria ( debate still rages over this).

M and l took the road towards Rotorua and went to a thermal area run by the Department of Conservation (DOC), called Waiotapu (wai = water, tapu = sacred). The Waiotapu thermal area has the largest area of surface thermal activity in the Taupo volcanic zone (this is where 3 different tectonic plates meet). The colours you can see are caused by antimony (orange), colloidal sulphur (green), sulphur (yellow) and a silica (white). What a fantastic sight.

Returned to Taupo and sat on the grass and listened to a Maori reggae group perform in the park.