Waimangu Volcanic Valley: A fantasy-film-like atmosphere
26 km south of Rotorua, off SH5, T07-366 6137, http://www.waimangu.com, daily 0830- 1645. There is a walk-only or walk and cruise option from $28, child $7.50. There is also a full-day Waimangu round-trip tour with road transport, a visit to the Buried Village, a cruise on Lake Tarawera, and an easy 3.6-km walk with lunch, from $255. Dave’s Shuttles offers a daily regular service from Rotorua (outside VIC from 0925) $20 return T027-246 7451.
The volcanic features in the Waimangu Volcanic Valley are all very recent and were created as a result of the 1886 eruption of Tarawera. Lake Rotomahana is essentially a water-filled crater which, before the eruption, was once the site of the famed pink and white silica terraces. Sadly, both of the terraces were completely obliterated by the eruption, but what were created in their place were the lake and a number of new volcanic features around it. These include the Waimangu Cauldron – the world’s largest boiling lake – the Inferno Crater Lake that rises and falls up to 10 m a month, steaming cliffs, and numerous boiling springs and steaming fumaroles. At the turn of the last century the now inactive Waimangu Geyser used to be the largest in the world, spouting water to a staggering 500 m. The park is self-guided and you can see it partly on foot and partly by boat but there are a number of options.
