A MORNING IN GEYSER VALLEY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 9, 10 January 1914, Page 10

A MORNING IN GEYSER VALLEY.

(By MI?S MART PROCTOR.)

After exhausting the wonders around Rotorua, an 4 visiting the scenes of the Tarawera eruption, tJie traveller naturally makes his way to Wairakei, the southern thermal district, and to my mind the gem of the collection. It is fifty miles from Rotorua, and leaving there by coach about a-quarter past eight, a stop is made at Waiotapu for lunch, leaving an hour or two to visit the Waiotapni thermal valley. We then motored for two hours to Wairakei, ono of the most interesting spots in New Zealand.

"Witching Wairakei." as it has been christened, means sparkling -water, for it i= a rushing stream flowing joyously along to the \Vaikn*o in charming cascades, its waters heated by the overflow of countless springs and remarkably active geysers. -Sonu'linies it broadens into ponds, which are fringed with drooping ferns and shrubs known as manuka. The portion of the valley iv which the geysers are situated is n.bout a mile from the Geyser House Hotel, and here the visitor spends the first morning .'liter arrival at T-his wondrous spot. The path leading to the valley lies between steep banks covered with trees and carpeted with the- choicest ferns and mosses. Dense clouds of vapour ascending from all parts of the valley indicate the presence <>f the wild spirit of steam escaping from imprisonment underground. The gurgling sound of water, as we step carefully after the guide, warns us that we are approaching the scene of action. In one direction can lie heard the regular thud ot" a. steam hammer, and elsewhere one detects the steady rotation of paddle wheels.

Now we are standing on tlie brink of the champagne cauldron, an enormous boiling cauldron, from which dense clouds arise, to a height of six or eight foet. The circular basin, about seventy feet in diameter, and eighty feet deep, is filled with water of a bluish tint, wonderfully transparent,, which bubbles and boils with ever-increasing fury, and a deafening uproar. Dense clouds of steam rising up from the pool on the occasion of our visit reflected the sunshine with wondrous effects, our shadows plainly discernible, approaching nnd receding, as the clouds were wafted to and fro. Kach of us exclaimed, on seeing our shadowed head adorned with an in our srlory. but on examining notes we fourd only oul own. halo visible. those of our companions being left to the imagination. A sudden upheaval while we were watctiing dispersed our spectral shadows in mist, and the blue oi the water was chnmed into dazzling loam. Higher an.l higher it row until it formed an enormous frothing pyramid, from out of which huge bubbling waves were Hung in swift miccossion. descending in torrents on the sloping bank, down which they raced into the stream gurgling below.

A short distance higher up the creek is the great Wairakei Geyser, which performs pverv seven muiutce. Kxuclly at

the end of that time a sound like :i stifled si<;h is heard, then a slijrlit ripple appears on the --.ii-facc of the water. followed by a gurgling splutter as the water swishes rmind the cauldron. A minute later it i< bubbling all over and rising fast, while. den»e iluuds of steam form and roll upwards. A fierce growling of the water- impri-oiicd within the .rater is followed by a shower of brilliants, rising and falliinr. quicker than the eve can foHo-w. diamonds flung aloft in sprays often to :i height of fifteen feet—occasional iiutlrarsts fortninpr a fountain 40ft hijrh. The whale eruption Lists alKHit four minuter, the boilinjr overflow through a channel 01 broken sinter to the creek.

While we were standing there enjoying a view of the ricli and deik-ate tints of the rocks forming tin , 'background of the geyser, the velvet mosses, droopfern-:, and golden feathery toi-toi grass. we heard a regular throbbing pound like a, steam engine. On inquiry we found that this was dm , lo a sm.iil geyser called the donkey engims which puffs out steam from a pool on the left hank of the stream. It (jives a solo [lerr'urnianee while the other geysera arc quiescent. Tlic moment they cease playing the donkey engine resumes its puff, puff. The main track to the sights which winds up and down the banks, and over rustic bridges «<tosm the stream, leads to the fairy baths, the drugon'4 moutli geyser, ■lightning pool, black geyser, white springs, mud volcanoes, old terrace, eagle's ne.=t. fairy geyser, the •boilers, Te Korowhiti (the whistler), the Prince of Wales' feathers, the twins, the red geyser, the petrifying geyser, tho steam hammer, the funnels, and the heel geyser.

The fairy baths are a group of deli-cately-tinted hot springs held in sma.ll, circular. sinter-rimmed basins. The dragon's mouth is a geyser 50 called because it resembles the mouth of a dragon. The throat and upper jaw are deep red in colour, and the elope encrusted by its discnarge is red and brown, varied by many tintings. The (Jiff above is of red earth, forming a jnarked contrast to the green ferns and shrubs in its vicinity. The overflow of water discharged by the geyser rushes down the terraced flope in a pretty series of small cascades, red, brown, grey, and white in hue. The geyser play.* with such regularity that the guide timed it to the minute, inviting the writer after its display Tvas over to stand within the fierce-looking jaws of the dragon's mouth, to be photographed. It -was a trying ordeal, it being rat-her a. difficult matter to smile and look pleasant under the errcum stances. The heat -within the crater was intense, and the dread lest the geyser might take it into its bead to be playful while 1 was perched within it, made the experiment a little daring. Nevertheless. I escaped unharmed.

Halfway down the terraced slope beyond the dragon's mouth, is the socailcd -lightning pool, a small circular basin in whose blue depths the bubbles of steam can be seen io ascend like balls of light, disappearing like flashes of lightning as 'they reach the surface. The effect is so weird that a vieitor described it as follows: —"There is something sinister tat very fascinating in the lightning pool. A 'baneful flame, ■with a hellish evil gleam, seems to flash messages from the lower regions to this devil's playground above. , ' ('oneea'led among the trees is a sinsrnlarly beautiful jrey3cr known as tho eagle's nest. It rises about five feeV above the ground, and is formed oi long sticks, built up like an eagle's nest, entrusted and cemented with snowy-white sinter. Before reaching tbe eagle's upsl we came to a most romantic spot, called the fairy geyser, which may be described as a gam. ■Hidden away in a shaded recess, its [beauty =has till lately "blushed unseen,' .

I and literally so. for it is of the red variety. The background is of pure soft hematite, above which grows the richest mosses of the valley in shades of cream and myrtle. In front of a throat-like aperture is a rose-coloured salver filled every few minutes like a fountain of crystal-like water, the escape of which is prevented by the sinter rein.

s?ot far from the eagle's nest' is a boiling fountain ca-Ked tollgate, in front of which a plank is 3aid across the deep channel worn in tbp valley by the overflow. Kvery minute a flood of eealding water is ejected, and we "were 1 warned to cross quickly if we wished to avoid a drenching. Old or nervous people and invalids, we were informed, can escape toll by taking another path leading over the cliff. However, no one in our party feared the venture, and we succeeded in crossing in safety. Having "walked the plank," we climbed up a steep terrace, which our guide called the

"menagerie,'' from the curious resemblance of the spongy-looking mass of rock, and the petrified tree-trunks lying around to <logs, lambs, bears, and other animals. The effect 'is heightened by the soft grey colour of the rock, varied by flesh tints ami some snowy -white, rei lievrd with occasional touches of yellow, green, and rose. On this mass of rook are situated the boilers, deep pools in which clearest water boils without cessation. About six feet behind the boilere is a black cavernous mouth, two feet in diameter, which is called Korowhiti. or the Wiiistler. The guide justified its title by an ingenious arrangement of glass tiolties of assorted sizes, each of which gave out. a •distinct whistling sound when placed near the small aperture. Whistled high and low, deep-toned and shrill, were produced for our entertainment. In a. fissure of black rock, ten feet to the west, there is a small waterspout, which is said to act in conjunction with the whistle, at intervals of ten minutes. However, time was limited, as it wae already noon, and ivn had not yet seen the Prince of Wales feathers, a little farther on, and one of the prettiest geveers of this region. The watery plumes thrown on cither side of the geyser to a heijht of forty-five to fifty feet, the display lasting about half a minute. While awaiting the display, the guide looked round in search of specimens of the many-coloured earthe, tinted blue, green, yellow, brown, ami red. with which he decorated cards, presenting thorn to us a.s souvenirs of our pleasant morning in the Geyser Valley.