Our Year 9 scientists journeyed to Rotorua last week to learn about the city’s archeological and geothermal wonders. Student Matai McNicholl shared this recap of the trip:

Last week, Year 9 went on a science trip to the Buried Village and Hell’s Gate in Rotorua. The four classes were divided into two groups. The group I was in went to the Buried Village first. After a long hour-and-a-half drive, we arrived and had some morning tea. Then the history of the village was explained to us by one of the employees. Around the 1880’s, the village of Te Wairoa was a popular location for tourists, because of pink and white terraces formed by geothermal springs and crystalline silica forming little pools as it went downhill. It was once considered the eighth wonder of the world. But in 1886, a nearby volcano, Mount Tarawera, erupted and buried the village in mud and ash, killing more than 100 people. We explored and had a great time seeing all the buried houses. Afterwards, we had lunch and made our way to our second location.

At Hell’s Gate, we were shown a bunch of different geothermal mud pools. Our tour guide told us how Hell’s Gate was named and other scientific facts, with some occasional puns now and then. It was discovered over 650 years ago but got its English name in 1934. An Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, visited the site and exclaimed, “This could be the very gates of hell”, which was ironic since he was an atheist. 

We also got to put some mud on ourselves, fresh from one of the geothermal pools! The sulphurous mud benefits our skin by absorbing excess oil and clearing other parts of our skin. I applied some to the back of my hand, and around an hour later, my skin felt much smoother than it did previously. Then we went back to the bus and returned to school.