ROTORUA feel the spirit

Like any adventurer knows, if you are feeling lost, or need to get your bearings, you climb to the top of the highest tree or hill to gain some perspective. We were not lost, but we didn’t know what treasures were hidden in our surrounds and from the vantage point of our small float plane we were able to see for miles, literally. In one direction we could see Mt Edgecombe and glimpse White Island on the horizon and around us lakes littered the landscape. Holding guard over this incredible landscape, Mt Tarawera stood like a proud sentinel, the gashes and gorges in its side witness to its violent history.

- Lynne and Steve Dickinson

Mount Tarawera is the one of the most well-known features of Rotorua, although it is one of those places we often see simply as a backdrop to our lakeside adventures. There is a trail to the top of the mountain, but you are not able to hike this without joining a tour. At present the only way to access the 1,111meter peak (or peaks) is either by flying with Volcanic Air (they do a helicopter ride to the top where you can get out and explore as well as the float plane ride, which we were on) or with Kaitiaki Adventures, who own the rights to the land access and run 4x4 and hiking tours to the summit.

Tarawera, which in Maori translates to “burnt peaks” last erupted in 1886, killing over 120 people and burying the Pink and White Terraces beneath Lake Rotomahana. As we flew over the craters you can clearly see the fissure that runs for 17km, splitting the mountain in two, something you could only experience from the heights of a plane.

As most of us explore New Zealand by road, and often just the main road, we have no idea of the gems often just hidden behind a hill or in a secluded valley. From our vantage point we could see small settlements dotted around the countryside, as our pilot, Simon explained the significance of each of the landmarks. We flew over steaming geysers and lakes so vivid in colour you would think they had been painted, places we simply did not know existed.

We became humbly aware of how much of New Zealand is unoccupied, and those small communities that exist are unknown to most of us. Amongst the groomed dairy farms, and wild natural forests there are treasures just waiting to be discovered.