Rotorua
Buried Village
of Te Wairoa
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a tour to the buried village of Te Wairoa
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Adventure in Rotorua
By
Richard Moore
In
1886 Mount Tarawera near Rotorua exploded
in a mighty eruption that split the mountain, destroyed the internationally
famed Pink-and-White Terraces and buried the small village of Te
Wairoa.
 The
death toll from the tragedy - which was portended by a ghostly canoe
sailing across Lake Tarawera - was 153 killed.
That
figure included both locals and tourists.
Today
tourists can travel to Te Wairoa - a 15-minute drive from Rotorua
- and can visit the sombre-but-beautiful site.
Walk
around the grounds and examine the remains of the excavated buildings
- the blacksmith's shop, flour mill, barman's house and Rotomahana
Hotel.
Wandering
around you can see the damage a volcano can do and imagine the sheer
terror that those caught in the eruption would have gone through.
There
is a museum on site that has household items that survived the explosion
- including a sewing machine found in the branches of a tree.
 You
can also see one of the straightest lines of trees in the world
- it's not really surprising when you consider they were once fence
posts that have grown into fully fledged trees!
If
you are feeling energetic you can take a walk down a bush trail
to the 80-metre Te Wairoa Falls or, if you'd rather not, you can
enjoy a wide range of food and drinks at The Buried Village's cafe.
There
are three-hour tours to Te
Wairoa that depart each day between 12:45pm and 1:00pm.
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