This week I've been looking through my archives and decided to post eight images from Rotorua 2001. They were taken with an early Olympus digital camera and are only 640 x 480 pixels but with the modern photo-software I now use I've been able to reveal more details than were evident when I originally downloaded them.
Rotorua was one of the stops on our tour of New Zealand which I describe in my journal THE LAND OF THE LONG WHITE CLOUD.
We reached Rotorua on Day 22
In the early evening we were just driving around and found ourselves at Kuirau Park. On the 26th January 2001, less than two months before our visit, an eruption occurred. Mud, steam and debris were thrown into the air. Notices warn visitors to enter at their own risk and not to cross the makeshift fences.
I went walkabout discovering ash-covered trees, small lakes of boiling mud, and large swamp lakes over which hot sulphurous clouds blew. It was the weirdest scene I had ever encountered. Beyond the park were modern buildings.
Much of the grass was green, but it was not a place for picnics nor football. The fumes, as long as one stayed away from the thickest clouds were not overpowering.
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What a fascinating place, Gerald! Your photos are terrific as always and as always, I enjoyed your description!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Sylvia
Great tour of a place I have always wanted to visit. Thanks for a glimpse of Rotorua.
ReplyDeleteSome of the photos look as if they were taken on a filmset for some scifi film. Absolutely beautiful. And the photos really show the weirdness of the place!
ReplyDeleteVery cool place. Reminds me of Yellowstone National Park.
ReplyDeleteSherry
This reminds me of some of the Yellowstone thermal areas. I didn't know New Zealand had such an area. Great p hotos!
ReplyDeleteTruly intriguing images here! Nicely done and thanks for sharing them. :D
ReplyDeletefantastic and fully of fantasy. Love your photos.
ReplyDeleteOh, I loved Rotorua! I can still remember the smell.
ReplyDeleteI have some old photos from the 1980s - I should do what you have done and scan them so that I can improve them. I had a fairly nice SLR at the time (a Contax) but a whole lot less skill than I have now. Some of the photos are good, but most are just snapshots and of course, they're faded.
Love the boiling mud and the clouds of steam!
Fantastic photos, Gerald! It does almost look like something out of a futuristic movie.
ReplyDeleterocky, rugged rotorua
ReplyDeleteWow, it looks like a "Lord of the rings" shot.
ReplyDeleteInteresting place.
Remarkable. Your photos are superb. The area bears some resemblance to portions of Yellowstone National Park. Wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteI was always disappointd that on my brief visit to New Zealand that we did not see Rotorua. Fascinating!
ReplyDeleteYou have done New Zealand a great service. Thank you. I will ask the queen to give you an OBE.
ReplyDeleteWill you be coming again?