The Wairere Boulders nature park is a privately held reserve a bit off the beaten track. A Swiss couple came here more than 30 years ago, bought land and then discovered what they had. He was a professor of civil engineering and a geologist prior to relocating to NZ. A background that allowed him to understand the significance of what they had acquired and the skills to open it to the world. Their life's work.
Here is the story he tells. The valley is made up of basalt, a very hard rock that comes from a volcanic flow originating deep in the earth. It's a commonly held that basalt does not erode. But in this valley it does. Perhaps the only place on earth where it does. The cause is the Kauri tree. The Kauri adds an acidity to the runoff from the area making the river acidic and eroding the basalt. Situated in a subtropical rainforest, there is a lot of runoff. The erosion happens from underneath and eventually the rock let go and broke into these massive boulders. The path they built winds up the valley under, over and through this boulder field. Coming out at the top to overlook what you've crawled through is unexpected and astonishing. Once again I am posting from my phone so pictures will have to wait.
Pictures:
The weather here is confounding. Several times a day, the clouds roll in, it rains for a few minutes and then the sun comes out again. The result is a lot of rainbows. Every day, many times a day. I rolled out this morning to perhaps the most amazing rainbow I've ever seen. A full double one ending in a field across from the campground. These mostly clear and sunny days make me glad I've stuck it out through all of the rainy ones. This time of year has its advantages, no itch inducing bugs and I practically have the country to myself!
Moving slowly these days, savoring my last month here. Heading on to Cape Regina today. The northernmost point in New Zealand. Phone coverage is very sparse here and I leave it off most of the time as searching for coverage chews up the battery.
