Te Urewera National Park

View of the coast near Gisborne,
as seen from our rather tiny plane!

This week, I had the opportunity to travel to Te Urewera National Park on a work-related trip. The third largest of New Zealand's na tional parks, it is home to Lake Waikaremoana
and the Lake Waikaremoana Track, one of the Great Walks of New Zealand, as well as the Aniwaniwa Museum and Visitor Centre.

Aniwaniwa Museum / Visitor Centre

The museum is itself a work of historical significance. Designed by NZ architect John Scott, the building intentionally blend s into the surrounding bush. Large windows are a signature of Scott's designs, and the building is full of huge curved windows that look out into the forest. The art galleries were designed to be representative of a Maori meeting house (wharenui). They contain many Maori artefacts, referred to collectively as taonga (treasures) that come from the local iwi community. There are strong partnerships with the local maori community, which stands in contrast to the history of the area. The lake was the site of battles between Europeans and Maori, under the leadership of Te Kooti who successfully managed to repel the invaders.

The museum gallery is also home to a large mural known as the "Urewera Mural", painted by NZ artist Colin McCahon. Works by McCahon and Scott, now both deceased, have quite a popular following in the arts community and many people visit Aniwaniwa Museum just to see these elements alone. They are no doubt pleasantly surprised to see the impressive collection of Maor i taonga, as well as the magnificent scenery that surrounds the area.

View of Lake Waikaremoana and Panekire Ridge on the left

That people travel there is saying something in itself. The region is remote, and the roads into the park are unpaved and curve through winding mountains. While it takes a bit of effort to get there, the end result is worth it, as the photos show. This is definitely one of New Zealand's pristine places, and I made many notes for things to do when I can come back with Stacey.

Small lake off the main track; me, and a huge waterfall just off the road.

From Te Urewera, we drove to the city of Rotorua, located in the Whakarewarewa Valley, and which is known for remarkable geothermal activity. These included Te Puia (which Stacey and I had seen last year during our visit) which is a well done Maori cultural centre that also contains many, many cool things like geysers, bubbling mud pools, and steamy lakes. We also visited the site of Te Wairoa – the Buried Village on Lake Tarawera, destroyed during the eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886, as well as several neat DOC-managed park areas. Rotorua is a tourist haven and it's not difficult to see why--there are tons of things to do there. Again I found myself taking notes and thinking about opportunities to get back to see it again.

Wairere Falls, in Te Wairoa; geysers at Te Puia; Tutea Falls near Rotorua--the guy in the little kayak down on the left had just gone over the falls!!!

This interactive at Te Puia is really cool...it appears to be a glowing hot volcanic cone, but if you look closely you can see it contains the image of a child. If you touch it, the crater erupts in a blaze of light, and you are confronted by a fire god who speaks to you! Very neat. According to Maori tribal history, this was the place where the Goddesses of fire, Te Pupu and Te Hoata, emerged from the earth’s core, inhaling and exhaling, creating the geysers, hot springs and mud pools.