Tag Archives: geothermal

New Zealand, Oceania

Hot Springs, Haka & Hangi Oh My!

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No visit to Rotorua would be complete without a trip to Te Whakarewarewa.  (Whaka for short, and the ‘Wh’ is pronounced as an ‘F’…true story!) My brother had visited years earlier in high school and was emphatic that the Hangi cooked corn was a must.  So funny!  The geothermal vents provide heat needed to steam and cook food which is actually quite tasty, but more of a novelty than a must do.

We spent the day visiting the Maori village, checking out the geothermal and cultural sites.  There was a performance that included information on traditional Maori clothing, tools, music, and a Haka, which Fazh loved.  Our park guide, Sandra, was great, even if she tried to introduce her self at the start of the tour as Te whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao.  (The full name of the site, loosely translated to: The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao.)  And, now you can see why the village is called Whaka by the locals.

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Rotorua also provided us with the opportunity to cross a few “must-sees” off of Fazh’s list by visiting the Agrodome.  If you’ve been reading all along, you’ll know that he wanted to see a sheep sheering, a kiwi orchard and some logging industry site amongst several other things.  Logging was cut before we left.  Pun intended.  At least the other two were enjoyable.  The Agrodome was a thoroughly entertaining day at a fantastic facility.  The “sheep show” features 19 different kinds of sheep.  The farm is home to all types of animals–working sheep dogs, geese, ducks, Angora goats, llamas, alpacas, red and fallow deer, ostrich and emu.  Kiwi and feijoa fruit are grown on the organic farm, as well as apples, mandarin oranges and olives.

Merino crossing
Feijoa Fruit
Kiwi Fruit
Pukeko Bird
Angora Goats
Ostrich

Check out the photos, and see for yourself.

Happy travels,
~j

North America, USA, Yellowstone

Old Faithful

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We arrived about 15 minutes before an eruption of Yellowstone’s famous Old Faithful. Eruptions occur anywhere from 65 to 91 minutes apart with a 10 or so minute window either way, so we were lucky we didn’t really have to wait. Word is that if the eruption lasts less than 2.5 minutes the next one will be in 65 minutes or so, and if the eruption is longer than 2.5 minutes the next one will be in about 90 minutes. So clever those scientists making a schedule for everyone!

Old Faithful is totally the “Mona Lisa” of the Yellowstone. You can’t really visit without seeing it, but it isn’t the most beautiful feature. And, it is by far the most touristed. There were hundreds of people waiting to see the show–half probably on bus trips to see one or two things in the park and then off to their next destination. Oddly, when we were getting our info at the Yellowstone Association, the two guys who were behind us said, “We have 3 hours–what do we see?” How about a whole lot of nothing!

Surprisingly, even though it is most famous, Old Faithful isn’t the highest or largest geyser in the park. Steamboat Geyser (video in previous entry) takes that title. However, unlike Old Faithful, Steamboat is unpredictable with major eruptions from 4 days to 50 years apart. Old Faithful is usually around 145 feet high, whereas Steamboat has been up to 300 feet high. Last huge Steamboat Geyser eruption was in May 2005.

Here are the Old Faithful photos. Imagine you have a flip book.

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I’m sure the Old Faithful Inn and Visitor Info Centre go through periods of boredom and super busy insanity every 45 to 91 minutes. There was mass exodus once the eruption was over. Obviously, it was worth seeing, but not the most spectacular thing we saw in the park.

Happy Travels,
~j
North America, USA, Yellowstone

Mammoth to Madison

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There is so much to see in the park that is isn’t funny. At each turn of the roadway there is another rock formation, another geothermal feature or another site to see. From Mammoth Hot Springs through to Madison on the 57km section there was a lot going on.

Sheepeater Cliff

Sheepeater Cliff is a formation of basalt columns that formed over 500,000 years ago. When the lava cooled it formed the columnar joints. You don’t see rock like this just anywhere. There are also Obsidian Cliffs (that we weren’t able to stop for photos at the time) that has loads of actual black obsidian rock all shiny and glistening in the sun, again formed that way when that lava cooled.

Sheepeater Cliff
Sheepeater Cliff
We stopped at Roaring Mountain which is rather bizarre. The steam vents in the mountain are sometimes barely heard, and at other times they create a roaring sound that can be heard several miles away. Sadly, the photos just look like a lump of normal mountain, so they’re not included. 
Emerald Spring
Emerald Spring

As we continued South, we ended up at Emerald Spring and Steamboat Geyser. Emerald Spring is almost 30ft deep. The green colour is due to the high sulphur content. It smells bad, but is quite pretty. Again, be thankful you can’t smell the photo.

Steamboat Geyser was the first actual geyser we saw in the park. I took a little video that would be much better sans commentary provided by the couple beside me that would not stop talking. The next leg of the trip was from Madison to Old Faithful. Ooooo, be excited for upcoming entries!

North America, USA, Yellowstone

Yellowstone: Orange Mound Spring

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Orange Mound SpringHere’s your science lesson for the day: Water deep below the surface of the earth is heated by the Yellowstone Volcano. The water bubbles to the surface, and flows out over the top of the Orange Mound. Calcium Carbonate and Travertine deposits left behind by the water create the formation. Some people we were talking to said that when they visited Orange Mound Spring a year earlier, it was much, much smaller. At this point, it is growing over the current road way, and work of moving the roadway to accommodate the formation has already begun.

Orange Mound Spring is only one of several examples that show the park is always in transition. Word is that no two visits to Yellowstone are ever the same.
North America, USA, Yellowstone

Roosevelt Arch & Mammoth Hot Springs

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Roosevelt ArchThe night before our first day in Yellowstone we stayed in Gardiner, MT. In the morning, we entered through the Roosevelt Arch at the North Entrance. President Roosevelt laid the corner stone in 1903. The inscription is a quote from the Organic Act of 1872 that basically states the park cannot be sold, settled or occupied, and that it is set aside as a public space for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. Once through the gate we were in Wyoming, and ready for our Yellowstone adventure.

Yellowstone National ParkPresident Grant signed the bill declaring Yellowstone as America’s first ever National Park in 1872. The army served as park administration until a National Park Service was established in 1916. The NPS are still managing the conservation and preservation of the park. There are still army barracks in the park and several museums to celebrate the park’s history. Really, we weren’t too keen on the museums. Some of them are kind of ridiculous. Who needs to see a museum of the Park Ranger? (I imagine exhibits like in 1920 they wore green hats, and in 1940 they switched to beige. Seriously, we didn’t check it out.)

From prior research, I knew Yellowstone was going to be geothermal insanity, I just didn’t realize exactly how much we would see. Obviously everyone thinks “Old Faithful” when they hear Yellowstone, but there are more than 10,000 features in the park. There are steam vents, fumaroles, bubbling mud pots, hot springs, and lots of geysers. An astounding half of the earth’s geothermal features are in Yellowstone. We took loads of photos that don’t necessarily do the park justice. Sure the colours are beautiful, but if you can’t smell the stench of sulphur, or hear the water hissing out of the ground you won’t receive the full effect. (Be happy you can’t smell the sulphur!)

We covered all of the parks roadways making our way from the North Entrance down through Norris and Madison to Grant Village on day one. The first feature we saw was Mammoth Hot Springs. The natural terraces are formed by mineral deposits left behind by the flowing water. There trail is limited to wooden walkways that are built to protect the structures created by the hot springs, but also to protect the visitors. Some places in the park there is a very thin crust over scalding hot water, and people can be scalded or even boiled to death if they stray off the walkways.

Here are some photos from our stop at Mammoth Hot Springs.
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone
Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone
Europe, Italy

Journalista!

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First, let me start by saying Napoli Centrale was sketchville! That train station was the creepiest place we visited anywhere during the entire Europe trip!

From Rome, we travelled by train to Naples to visit Pompeii (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and climb Mount Vesuvius. Thanks to Wikipedia I know that Vesuvius is the only volcano in Europe that has erupted in the past 100 years. It had a lot of steam vents at the crater, so it is still doing something down below the Earth’s crust (or cruth if you’re so inclined. Ah, I kill me.)

Wikipedia also says that Vesuvius “is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living nearby and its tendency towards explosive eruptions.” (Love that I’m quoting from Wikipedia. We all know it is such a reliable source. User generated content=100% accurate.)

Vesuvius Pompei Italy
View of Naples from Vesuvius

It is unbelievable how well Pompeii is preserved given the site was completely wiped out by volcanic eruption. The casts of the people and pets found at the site were kinda creepy and sad. The eruption lasted 2 days and buried Pompeii under 5 or 6 meters of ash. That said, I certainly wasn’t expecting a fully organized town to have been excavated. The site was re-discovered by accident in the 18th century. All of the work that is has taken to get the site to the condition it is in now is just craziness.

Jon tells me that the archaeologists are still looking for one main site or town square that hasn’t been found yet. It is kind of unbelieveable that there is a full amphitheatre that has been excavated, let alone something more significant that they are still searching for.

Pompeii Italy
Mosaic floor Pompeii Italy
Theatre Pompeii Italy
Columns Pompeii Italy

All in all, a good day away from Rome, and one of the funniest days of the trip due to our bizarre travel companions on the train ride home. The 2 dudes that spoke Neapolitan more than Italian, and the poor Journalista who had to translate for them when they were asking me how much I like Italian men. We’ll just leave it at that…

~j

ps: Pompei vs Pompeii is all very confusing.  Pompei refers to the modern city whereas Pompeii refers to the ruins.  Thanks Google.