A Trip to Australia and New Zealand
Tauranga to Rotorua
There are a number of beautiful lakes in the region and the country around them is a magnificent forest of giant tree ferns and othe exotic plants. Exotic birds are everywhere - including the famous black swans.
Rotorua is located smack dab on top of the Rotorua Caldera and the fumaroles that can be seen throughout the city are all directly associated with the hot magma that still lives in the heart of the ancient volcano. European missionaries worked with local Maori residents in the early nineteenth century, but the area was involved in the Maori Wars in the 1860s and paceful thoughts of relgion were pushed well into the backgound. In 1883 a town was formally established in order to facilitate the development of the area as a spa. A very important part of the attraction were the pink and white terraces that cascaded into the lake at their foot. In 1886 nearby Mount Tarawera erupted killing over a hundred people in nearby Maori communities and dramatically changing the landscape. The pink and white terraces were lost, but tourism continued to grow in importance.
New Zealand is part of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. Volcanoes have been a feature of the land since before the Zealandia microcontinent drifted away from the Continent of Gondwana millions of years ago. In recent history they have provided some of the largest eruptions recorded by man. The 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera was one of those events.
