When we left the Tongariro National Park area we headed north towards Rotorua to visit friends. It was a somewhat depressing drive; we spent most of the time staring at industrial forests, clearcuts and monocultures that stretched as far as the eye could see. The New Zealanders have destroyed much of their native forest and now raise Radiata Pines in what looks like gigantic cornfields, row upon row of single species planttions. It is a native of southern California which has been introduced in New Zealand and Australia as a commercial wood-products tree. When growing in its native habitat it is of little commercial use (see reference, above), but when grown on plantations in the moister climate of New Zealand and Australia where its lower limbs are pruned it has better commercial properties.
|
|
| Industrial Forest |
 |
We stopped at Huka Falls on the Waikato River. The northern slopes of the volcanoes in Tongariro National Park drain via the Tongariro River into Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest freshwater lake; the lake itself sits in the caldera of the Taupo Volcano, the source of some of the world's most violent eruptions in modern geologic times. The Waikato River is about 100m wide as it flows gently northward from the lake, but it is abruptly squeezed down to about 15m wide where it passes through a harder section of rock. It drops steeply through this section forming Huka Falls. A few miles further downstream lies the Aratiatia Dam and Power Station, a mostly run-of-the-river hydropower facility. Just below the dam are the Aratiatia Rapids where the river drops 28m in the space of 1km. The dwarf escape scene in the The Hobbit was filmed here.
In any case, Huka Falls is a really impressive hunk of pounding water. This was the dry season; I would love to see it when it's really screaming during spring runoff.
 |
 |
 |
| Huka Falls of the Waikato River | ||
 |
 |
 |
We headed on north towards Rotorua, but got sidelines at a place called Lava Glass. It reminded me of the work of Dale Chihuly which we had seen a few years ago at the Denver Botanical Gardens. We stopped and had a bite to eat, toured the exhibit, then went into the studio and watched an artist creating something.
 |
 |
| Lava Glass | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
I have always been fascinated by glass blowing ever since I got a chance to try it in High School chemistry. Molten glass is pretty cool. Someday when I have nothing else to do maybe I will take a course and learn a little bit more.
 |
 |
 |
| Prepping Colors | Starting Out | Cutting Off |
 |
 |
| Hot Oven | |
 |
 |
| Smoothing | Rounding |
 |
| Expanding Neck |
Then it was on through more industrial forests to Rotorua, where we were in for some pleasant surprises.
This page last updated on 2016-11-22.
