Mt Tarawera

During the 1800s, the world famous pink and white terraces at Lake Rotomahana were regarded as the eighth wonder of the world and became New Zealand's first tourist attraction.

In the early hours of June 10th 1886, the people at Te Wairoa were woken by earthquakes and continuous rumblings. Moments later, Mount Tarawera violently erupted, spitting out hot mud, red hot boulders and huge clouds of black ash. Several hours later, the bed of Lake Rotomahana blew out, burying the Maori villages of Moura and Te Ariki under a deep layer of liquid mud, stones and ash.

Just days before the eruption, a phantom canoe or apparition was seen on Lake Tarawera by both Maori and European tourists. When the great Tohunga (priest) Tuhoto was asked what it meant, he replied that is was an omen. He believed the waka wairua, or spirit canoe, was an sign of a great calamity that would strike the land.

Tuhoto believed the local people had desecrated their sacred mountain and values. And two days after the sighting, Mt Tarawera erupted. The Pink and White Terraces were destroyed and 153 people lost their lives.

Rotorua is very close to the place where great tectonic plates meet; the land has been moving here for thousands of years and continues to do so. Deep in Tarawera Mountain the pressure builds. This mountain merely sleeps. Scientists constantly measure volcanic activity and keep an eye on the restless earth for signs of the next eruption.

Tourists from all over the world still visit the mountain, many transported to its awesome summit by descendants of the people who escorted early visitors to the terraces. People can even trace this fascinating story by experiencing the violent eruption of Mount Tarawera at the Rotorua Museum; exploring the excavated site of Te Wairoa Village known today as'The Buried Village' and meet the descendants of the survivors in their living thermal village at Te Whakarewarewa.