December 4, 2023
Traveling 6,000 miles to see redwoods, when our “back door” at home in Carlotta is the head of the famed Avenue of the Giants seemed a bit silly. But the idea that the redwoods were brought across the ocean and across the equator was intriguing. Most of the redwoods in the Whakarewarewa Forest in Rotorua were planted between 100 and 120 years ago…babies (or second or third growth) by our California standards. That said, everything seems so verdant and healthy in New Zealand and that includes our imported California redwoods.
Redwood Trees? And we were excited? Nick looked skeptical.
Our healthy California redwood forests have an entire eco system that includes ferns and bracken. The ferns living in the New Zealand redwood forest are primordial in size, seemingly as tall as the redwoods. The scale is eerie.
For a young redwood tree, this one seems to be doing what it is supposed to do! I was impressed by the fern trees that grew alongside the redwoods. Nick was impressed by how quickly the redwoods had grown to size.
Rotorua is a vacation spot and as we are at the very beginning of the summer season, folks were starting to arrive. The town of Rotorua is smack dab on the Thermal Explorer Highway. And there is a reason for that name. This area of the North Island includes volcanoes, thermal vents, hot springs, fumaroles, mud pots, and a host of other geothermal geologic wonders. When we got out of our car at our hotel, we knew we were in the right place. The “perfume” of sulfur reminded us of the nearby volcanic activity. We walked along the waterfront of Rotorua Lake to see the hot springs, mud pots, and rose gardens.
Craters of the Moon. A little taste of hell on earth. On the right, Huka Falls was just a stupid amount of water going through a tiny canyon. So loud!
The food scene in Rotorua is impressive. It seemed like every continent and many countries were represented, including Nepalese, Peruvian, East Indian, Vietnamese, and even Mexican! In the center of town, they blocked off a large area, covered it to keep out the rain, heated the sidewalks with geothermal heat and let restaurants go wild. It is named “Eat Street.” And we did what we were supposed to do.
Leave it to Nick to find Big Foot in New Zealand. (Lakeman Beer). The sum total of my cooking so far on this trip. Peeling fresh water prawns that have been bathing in a garlic butter sauce. Behind me is the prawn farm. You can see how I have toiled. My requisite glass of New Zealand chardonnay is next to Nick’s Sasquatch beer can.
The next day we got back on the Thermal Explorer Highway to head towards Napier in Hawkes Bay on the Pacific Coast. En route, we stopped at Huka Falls, which is not so much a “fall” but more of a huge amount of water being forced through a tiny canyon. The sound was overwhelming. A short hop took us to the Craters of the Moon, a valley filled with steam vents and active geothermal fumaroles, etc. The 3 kilometer walk was punctuated with informational signs explaining not only the geology but also the effect of the geology on the flora of the area. It was like getting a peek into hell.
Lunch was at a prawn farm outside of Lake Taupo where I shelled a half kilo (roughly a pound) of large fresh water prawns for us to eat. Nick managed to find a local beer that celebrated “Lakeman,” a doppelganger for Big Foot.
The day seemed vaguely California-like with the redwoods and a little Calistoga thrown in for good measure. But “we are not in Kansas [or California] anymore, Toto.” Unless you consider that our next stop is one of many wine areas in New Zealand…I know we are not in California, but it does feel amazingly like home.
~Wendy and Nick