Geyser Notes

Wasn't sure what to expect today. The amount of information about New Zealand thermal activity is minuscule compared to Yellowstone, and usually out of date or of historic interest only.

Our accommodations in the Holiday Park are within walking distance of Te Puia at Whakarewarewa, so we headed over about 30 minutes before opening. It was easy crossing, since the new traffic circle features some pedestrian underpasses.

But first we investigated the steam coming from the other side of the fence, within the golf course. There we found a pair of large, wet, but noisy mudpots. That was a nice start.

Over at Te Puia we could see areas of steam as we walked up to the entrance station. We waited a bit, but were the first on the grounds as the gates opened at 07:58. We quickly made our way past the "cultural exhibits" to our real target-- the thermal activity.

When the Geyser Flat became visible, we could see Te Tohu (Prince of Wales Feathers) erupting, and what looked like Pohutu slopping. Down the ramp and moments later we came across Pohutu in full eruption.

Here's where our ignorance came into play. We didn't really know what to expect next. The signs said that there were one to two eruptions per hour, but this one kept on going. After reaching full height, it seemed to die down after about 15 minutes, only to pick back up and rise back up to a full 17-20 meters. After twenty minutes of video recording, I gave up.

This eruption lasted about 53 minutes. About five minutes before the end, it became obvious that things were dying down as the activity of both geysers slowed. They finally stopped together, or within seconds of each other.

Since we didn't know what the intervals might be, we explored the area in the vicinity where we could come back quickly if things started happening there. The immediate vicinity reminds me of Geyser Creek. Lots of hot ground with steaming cracks and openings. A number of what look like decrepit features that might once have been springs and geysers, but are now just another fumarole. There are lots of areas of sulphur being deposited, bright yellow covering the formations of what used to be geysers.

One feature we knew about was Kereru. Unlike the other nearby features, which are depositing standard gray sinter, it is surrounded by black sinter. The vent is in an alcove below the platform of Pohutu and company. We finally figured out where it was located, and that it wasn't doing anything but steaming gently. Our information from last week said that it seemed to start overflowing giving a few minutes warning.

When we returned to Pohutu, Te Tohu was again in eruption, so we waited for Pohutu. About seven minutes later, Pohutu started splashing, and the eruption began about six minutes after that. This eruption also seemed to have periods of alternating between full height and something about half. It lasted about ten minutes less than the previous one. During this eruption Kereru did nothing, as before.

So again we took advantage of the gap to investigate the area further away. There we found lots of steam vents and mudpots surrounded and obscured by lush green plant-life. We walked up to Te Waikite, which used to be the largest geyser in the area, located at the top of a huge mound of old sinter. We returned at about noon to wait for Te Tehu's start.

During that wait, Kereru still did nothing that we could see, and once Te Tohu started, we decided to find a different place to see the start. From this vantage point, Kereru was not visible.

About ten minutes after we left, Suzanne saw the sudden appearance of a huge steam cloud from down there. We both ran down in time to see the tail end of the eruption. These eruptions last only about 30 seconds, but can easily reach 20 meters. Needless to say, we were a bit disappointed, as from what we knew, that was our one and only chance to see a geyser that reports said erupted a few times a week to maybe a few times a day.

The reports we had said that after an eruption, there was a series of minors, some which could be fairly strong, and as high as the platform above it where Pohutu is located. We saw some minor splashes, but they were at best only a few meters high, and were anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes apart during the next half hour.

Pohutu started during this time, so we watched it while keeping an eye out on Kereru. Then we noticed that the splashes seemed to be getting bigger and more frequent. Not only that, but it seemed like the water was pooling in the vent. In anticipation of the next minor, I started the video recording. Almost immediately I was rewarded with a minor that kept building while water started to flood out the vent. The interval between two major eruptions, and this was no minor, was 49 minutes.

The water floods out over the sinter shield between the vent and the river in one big, sustained wave while the height was comparable to that of the still erupting Pohutu, even though the vent is about five or six meters lower.

Following this eruption, we started getting minor play every two or three minutes. These were much stronger than the splashes we'd seen earlier. Pohutu ended about ten minutes later, with a duration almost identical to the previous eruption. There was no way we were going to be leaving this area this time.

This splashing continued for about the next 90 minutes. Pohutu started another eruption about an hour into this wait. Then Kereru was mostly quiet for about twenty minutes. Unlike previously, the splashes were strong from the beginning, and coming so frequently that I stopped recording individual spurts.

Twenty minutes later, the splashes had turned into full minors less than a minute apart, and Pohutu was still erupting, about 70 minutes after it had started. That's when Kereru started looking so good that I had to start recording. Within a minute, it erupted for the third time that day, with this interval about 2h12m. The length and height were no different from the second eruption.

And, as after the previous eruption, minor play every two to three minutes started again. Pohutu's eruption continued with it finally ending with a duration of 1h34m.

We took the opportunity to explore the last of the areas we hadn't visited, over by Papakera Geyser. We observed the wash zone around it, and that it was gently overflowing. By the time we returned, Te Tohu was again in eruption. Kereru was still having minors. We decided to get the start of Pohutu, and then leave. We figured that the area would close by the time Pohutu's next eruption ended, and Kereru wouldn't have had enought time for a fourth eruption, so no point in sticking around further. It had been a long, eventful and wonderful day.

But it turns out we got one last surprise. Looking back on the area, we discovered Pohutu off, a mere twenty minutes after the start. This short eruption followed a long duration and interval. It would have been interesting to know what that meant, but maybe for the best that we were about to be forced to leave.

A few other observations. The crowds would come and go. Unlike at Old Faithful, where the time of the next eruption governed the size, here it seemed to be based on how many bus tours there were. At times we had the area around Pohutu to ourselves. There were three other people besides us who witnessed the last eruption we saw of Kereru.

The Asian Invasion is not unique to Yellowstone. If anything, we are pretty lucky in that most gazers don't have to interact with these people except when they tromp down to Morning Glory or elbow their way to the railing during a New Crater/Steamboat eruption. On too many occasions these people would block my view to get their perfect picture, when I was already trying to stay to the side and out of the way. I had one woman, oblivious to her surroundings shove her umbrella in my face as she fumbled with her camera.

It was also disappointing how little information there was about the geysers. There are not guidebooks in the souvenier store. The closest I could find was a "thermal history" of the Maori. I heard several of the guides mention things that weren't true. They were still telling people Pohutu was erupting once or twice an hour, for example.There is nothing like geyser gazing, at least at Te Puia (we'll learn if that it also true at Orakeikorako in a few days.) A few gazers spending all day here over the period of a week would probably do more to pin down what sort of activity is going on than has been done in the last few years. (For example, is there really no connection between Kereru and Pohutu? I wonder, based on some things I saw about the minors.)

Tomorrow will be less intense, as it's mostly driving between several places that probably don't have natural geysers. But I should get to see my first induced eruption since 1986.