What's up, Hive! It's been a while since I posted something, although I am still actively curating your travel posts in the WorldMapPin community. We recently had a refresher on how to improve our travel posts in the community. You can read it here: Guideline for your Travel Content posting in WorldMapPin Community [Eng][Esp].
I finally found some time to sit down and write about my travels. I have a few posts in the pipeline, most of which are my travels to New Zealand last year. I already have a few posts about this trip. You can check them in my profile.
Danger comes knocking
I went to New Zealand to attend the 10th International Conference on Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology. I'm a full-time researcher, which means I conduct experiments at the lab, write research papers, and one of the perks, attend international conferences.
The conference was held at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua, near Lake Rotorua. The Lake is practically in the Events Centre's backyard. On the 5th day of my stay in New Zealand, I was growing anxious. I have discovered that I have this 3-day rule whenever I'm traveling. It's always on the third that danger comes knocking. It's the feeling of homesickness, anxiety, and even Imposter Syndrome. It was always on the 3rd day that I wanted to go back home. I was already past my 3-day rule, but it seemed like I still wasn't safe from my sabotaging mind.
And so on that day in Rotorua, New Zealand, thousands of kilometers away from the Philippines, I wanted to go home. I felt out of place among the crowd of intellectuals and academics at the conference. A stupid part of my brain asked me what I was doing there in the first place. I revised my presentation for the next day and submitted it to the conference organizers. Another stupid part of my brain told me my presentation was nothing compared to what others had presented. I had to personally request the organizers to give me a spot for an oral presentation, but I was starting to regret it.
To escape my inner dangerous thoughts, I decided to go out of the conference venue. I went to its backyard and into an actual Dangerous Area. Lake Rotorua is actually a Caldera. It's a wide and shallow crater created by a volcanic eruption that happened thousands of years ago. There's still volcanic activity around the lake and even the city. Part of the lake was Sulphur Point, which is a wildlife sanctuary. It's called Sulphur Point because it has fumes of Hydrogen sulphide coming out of the ground. There are also sulphur mounds, geothermal gases, steam, sulphur fires (didn't see this though), boiling water, and mud pools.
I went out and passed through the parking lot of the Events Centre in my tuxedo and leather shoes. There was a thicket of trees scattered around the edge of the lake and the ground had this hue of a very pale yellow, almost white. A warning sign welcomed me with a reminder to stay on the boardwalk or bridge and to be careful as I crossed it. As a Filipino, it's strange to be able to enter a tourist park without a guide. It's even stranger to be able to enter without a fee. I figured if I stayed on the boardwalk, I'd be safe.
I made my way to the wooden boardwalk and the smell of sulfur grew strong. There were more warning signs alone the boardwalk. A sign said I was along a thermal area. I continued walking and saw a mud pool that was bubbling. It looked quite dangerous and I wondered what would happen if someone accidentally fell into it.
I moved away from the mud pool and headed further into the park. The landscape looked like a beach shore during low tide with its white sand. But looking at the color of the water told me something was different. The lake water at this location was milky white.
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A protected area with poison
I then saw the signage for the place. It read Sulphur Point Wildlife Sanctuary and Lake Rotorua (Moturara) Wildlife Refuge. New Zealand is known for its conservation efforts and this was evident here. The sign said the location was a habitat for threatened bird species.
The boardwalk with wooden planks ended and I had to walk on the ground surrounded by bushes. I came across a sign that said DANGER POISON. There I thought all the danger would only come from the volcanic activity of the lake. I later learned that New Zealand has a nationwide effort to eliminate rodents. Before the Europeans arrived, no rodent species existed in the country. But once the rodents entered the forests of the country, they became a serious threat to the ecosystem, particularly local bird species because they eat the eggs. The New Zealand government saw the need to eliminate this threat. To do this, they set up traps containing baits laden with poison.
I left the poison alone and continued walking. The trees grew thicker and I entered another boardwalk. It led to a part that was flooded with the milky white water of the lake. I moved away from it and went back to the trees. I passed by other people doing their self-guided walks. I was a bit relieved knowing that I was not completely alone trudging along this dangerous area.
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The trees were so thick I felt like I was in a hedge maze. I wasn't sure where I was going, but I knew I'd eventually come out of there. The trees around the area were interesting. They had spindly branches. They had small elongated leaves and round berry-like fruits. From afar, I could see the museum building and I know that's where I should be headed. I walked my way there passing by more boardwalks and strange-looking trees.
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A therapeutic dangerous walk
I finally made my way out of Sulphur Point and into Rotorua's main park, the Government Gardens. But there were more signs of volcanic activity there. There was a hot pool enclosed by a wooden fence. Further ahead, I saw the Polynesian Spa. I know the place has hot pools where you could dip into it. I looked up online how much it would cost to go inside the spa, but I found out it was too pricey for me.
Outside the spa, there was a pond with that milky white water again. After coming from Sulphur Point, the pond didn't look as menacing as I thought it would if I hadn't seen the bubbling mud pools beforehand.
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Surprisingly, taking a walk around the dangerous Sulphur Point was therapeutic. My mind was off my anxieties and I didn't care that I was missing some insightful talks back at the conference. I wanted to continue exploring Rotorua. So in my suit and leather shoes, I continued walking and headed out of the Government Gardens to go to another park that was full of geothermal activity. That will be for the next post.
