water – MikeHawkey.com

Once in a while, going light on your gear leads to missing an image. It is a weigh off I am usually fine with, but on this occasion, it was a real shame I didn’t anticipate the need and carry my polarizing filter! With it, I think the photos really could have at least partially shown the beauty of this spot.

On the west side of Rotorua, we visited the natural springs of Te Puna-a-Hangurua. The main spring (pictured above) is the biggest in New Zealand’s North Island and flows 4,500,00 litres of water each hour, after taking around 70 years to surface!.

It really was so beautiful and blue, encouraging one to jump in for a swim – although this is not allowed at the initial exit point. Way back in 1957 they sent two skin divers down whom recovered 5000 pennies (coin money) dating back to 1860 – the ‘loot’ then donated to children’s charities. There certainly was not 5000 coins there today, but I suspect they clean it out periodically as there was still a fair bit of coinage for people likely tossing one in for good luck.

Eventually, after passing through many points of interest and waterfalls, the water exits into the Pacific Ocean.

For one of our days staying in Krabi, we booked a day trip out to some of the smaller islands. Heading out via longboat, we had three main stops – one for snorkling, one for lunch and one for a few hours swimming.

One thing that became apparent in Thailand, starting with this trip, was the struggle the country appears to have with litter/rubbish, and dealing with it.

Each of the stops was beautiful, and away from the mainland, relatively free of rubbish. However, stopping at the lunch spot, walking on the beach, I could smell the familiar scent of ash/burnt goods. At the back of the small beach area, it was clear that all rubbish on the island just gets piled up and burnt. Relatively small stuff, but I’ll touch on it again in future posts where the issue was more obvious.

Anyway… Landing at the final beach and being left for the rest of the afternoon I went for a bit of a stroll. Thailand was hit by a nasty tsunami in 2004. This beach paradise, like many other places was hit, with old wreckage sitting in the bush as a reminder.

With the Thai authorities estimating that at least 8,150 are likely to have died, the bits of boats and other things around the coastal areas serve as a reminder, and sorts of shrines to remind us of the loss.

From Krabi and back on a boat tomorrow!