Strange and beautiful Taupo

17/03/09

We're now staying in Taupo which is right next to Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. It can fit the whole of Singapore in to it! All around us are sites of thermal activity and everywhere you look you can see hot steam rising out of the land or smell pungent gusts of sulphur.

Today, in spite of the onset of rain in the area, we did a 45 minute loop walk around the Craters Of The Moon, a bizarre patch of land dotted with hyperactive geothermal pot holes and craters which rumble and bubble noisily whilst belching out thick eggy-smelling steam. We were warned not to deviate from the path at any stage or wear open shoes because of the hot ground. The only species of flora there were very hardy reeds and heather-like plants.

Then we went to check out the Huka Falls where the entire flow of the huge, clear Waitomo River funnels in to a narrow chasm before shooting down a ten metre shelf in to another pool below at a speed of around 400 tonnes per second. This speed and volume make it look far more powerful than it sounds on paper and the water was so white because of all the bubbles! I'm not sure if anyone has ever tried rafting over it but it looks like a lot of fun!

After the falls we drove a short distance to the Spa Thermal Park in which visitors can take a dip at the point where a fast stream of geothermally heated water meets the Waitomo river. It was quite crowded there and since the hottest areas are those closest to the stream, people were congregated in a fairly small space trying to find a spot which was neither unbearably hot nor too cold. It was a weird experience scrambling down slimy, jagged rocks into what looks like a river but in places feels like a hot scalding bath while being rained on heavily for an hour or so.

It is also evidently a very sociable place. We chatted to loads of people including one intriguing chap from India who told us he lived in Taupo and was a psychotherapist who does hypnotherapy. He told us he was one of only four or five people in the world trained to practise this so-called ZennaE method of treatment and that his master, a nomadic kiwi, had cured his bowel cancer and many other cancer sufferers before. "Oh really?" Ric and I said simultaneously; "So can you help with problems like OCD and Bulimia?". He smiled and threw his head back a bit and proffered that these were two very difficult illnesses to treat (don't I know it!) but then, without doing a hard sell, he had a think and said he'd like to try a quick half hour session there and then to see if I would be receptive to a longer one where he promised I would become more emotional and ultimately happier than ever before. Cynical as ever but fascinated by what he was telling me, I allowed him to do it.

I can't say it was a great experience and I'm a long way from 'healed' but it wasn't bad either. I tried hard to keep my eyes closed and my brain focused for half an hour despite the people chatting all around me and the slippery rocks I had to cling on to. Overall, aside from it being a surreal thing to be doing in an extraordinary setting it was interesting and quite meditative but I would like to know more about his (I don't even know his name!) techniques as he seemed a bit hesitant when asked about its creator and origin and even the procedure itself. All he as said was that in an intense two hour session he can tackle the emotions more deeply than they have ever been tackled before. I would love to give him my unreserved confidence but I don't think I have time left to really achieve anything.

Tomorrow Ric wants to go to Huka Prawn Park (prawn fishing capital of the world apparently) to catch himself some dinner. Gawd.

I must say, the Kiwis are very good at finding multiple sources of income from one main business/trade. This is a functioning prawn farm but also pitched to tourists as a fun family day out where we can meet Shawn the prawn and all his little friends. Ric is really excited. They give you an umbrella if it rains but even if the heavens open again I would rather leave him there and go on another horse trek. I'm sure I will be persuaded in to it eventually though.