Nothing was left alive for miles around after the series of explosions in the middle of the night in June, 1886. It was a sort of Mt. St. Helens deal in the central part of New Zealand's north island. Eventually, the dust settled and craters -- plural -- filled with water.
Although the dust had settled, the steam vents and geysers have not. During a boat cruise on Lake Rotomahana, which formed in the largest crater, we saw a large number of them along the shore. Many more are submerged in the lake, diameter 2 miles and depth in hundreds of feet. Black swans swim lazily around until the boat infringes on their precious primadona personal space; then they fly a hundred meters away and water-ski 10 meters to a soft landing.
The area around the lake is very hilly. Call it mountainous. After the Big Bang, it was a desolate landscape covered in volcanic ash. Now, 128 years later, it is a lush forest, almost jungle, and, if there is a lesson to be learned, that lesson is something about resilience. This is an ugly place turned beautiful.
We are definitely not in Kansas.
Beautifully written!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post.
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