Pōhutu Geyser

Pōhutu is the largest active geyser in the Southern Hemisphere and the centrepiece of Te Whakarewarewa, the geothermal valley on the southern edge of Rotorua. It can throw a column of boiling water and steam up to about 30 metres into the air, and it erupts as often as twenty times a day, each display lasting ten to twenty minutes. Its name comes from te reo Māori and is usually rendered as "big splash", "explosion" or "constant splashing" — all of which fit.

What you are watching is the Taupō Volcanic Zone working just below the surface. Pōhutu sits on Geyser Flat, a terrace of pale silica sinter where seven geysers cluster together, among more than five hundred hot springs in the valley. Its vent is narrow, only about half a metre across, which lets pressure and heat build until the water flashes into steam and bursts out. Watch the smaller geyser a few metres to the north: the Prince of Wales Feathers began to play in 1886, after the eruption of Mount Tarawera, and was first called the Indicator because it usually starts just before Pōhutu does. It was renamed after a royal visit in 1901.

The geyser's health has not always been taken for granted. In the twentieth century geothermal bores drilled to heat homes and hotels in Rotorua drew down the underground reservoir, and activity at Whakarewarewa declined. In the late 1980s bores within 1.5 km of the valley were shut, and Pōhutu became more active again — though some scientists caution that the steadier rhythm may itself be a sign of change in the system. The valley is part of Te Puia, which is also home to the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, where carvers and weavers can be watched at work, and a kiwi conservation centre. Bubbling mud pools and native bush fill the rest of the valley around the geyser terrace.

Getting there

Te Puia is on Hemo Road, about 2.9 km from the centre of Rotorua. Rotorua Regional Airport (ROT) is 8.2 km away. The geyser is seen within the Te Puia reserve.