Photo Of The Week: Thermal Village Rotorua

The living Maori thermal village of Whakarewarewa is located in Rotorua, New Zealand. It is the most accessible geothermal site in the world and a place I had to photograph. This week’s featured images is appropriately named ‘Thermal Village Rotorua’. I took the image from the balcony of our room at the Silver Oaks Hotel – Geyserland. Rotorua is one of the most fascinating places I have ever seen. I spent most of my time exploring the local thermal parks, although there is so much more to see and do. There are beautiful forests and lakes throughout the area. It is a place that I cannot wait to return to.

The Meaning Behind The Name Of The Thermal Village – Whakarewarewa

The full name of the thermal village is Te Whakarewarewatanga-o-te-ope-a-Wahiao, meaning gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao. Apparently war parties would gather there and perform a war dance before going into battle. The Maori people built the fortress of Te Puia, which was first occupied around 1325. It was not until some 500 years later that Europeans decided to settle and develop a township in the area.

For the last 200 years local people have been inviting visitors into the village, as they do today. It really is a must see on any visit to the north island of New Zealand. There are  65 geyser vents and some 500 pools, most of which are hot springs in and surrounding the thermal village.

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