Te Aroha Things to Do

I was told by a nice lady who walks her dog in the Te Aroha Hot Spring Domain that this fountain is a soda water fountain. I was told that you need to drink plenty of water before going to the spa so I drunk a lot. Just be careful if you have a sensitive stomach.

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This is the only soda water geyser in the world. The Geyser erupt around every 30-40 minutes. I waited for thirty minutes and there is a seat there so I was having dinner there. I was told by a nice lady, walking with her dog, that the geyser is kind of blocked by the material and there are planned to fix it. It used to go up for around 2 meters high. In the picture I have shown the higher eruption. After the eruption there were smokes around the geyser and I remember I saw that when I arrived the geyser so I think I just missed the eruption. So it is true that it takes around 30-40 minutes.

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Te Aroha isn't a large township, but seems packed full of local history. The Te Aroha Heritage Trail is a walk around the town that takes in these local landmarks, such as the towns Memorial Clock, the colourful Coulter Bridge, the Domain and some of Te Arohas oldest buildings. If you call into the main Information centre you can pick up a leaflet with a map and information which will guide you around the town on foot - all for $1! Go get a leaflet and take your camera for a stroll.

I've included more pictures and info in my travelogue below.

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Housed in one of Te Arohas many historic buildings, the Quilt Museum is free to look around. On display are many quilts and you can buy fabric, patterns and quilting books if you are inspired to give it a try. I have to say that quilting has always been beyond me, but I do enjoy looking at the work of others. Some of the quilts on display here are huge and very intricate.

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Saint Marks church is a pretty church with mount Te Aroha as a backdrop. It was built in the 1920s as a Memorial Peace Church, and is well worth a visit in its own right if you enjoy visiting churches (as I do).

However, it happens to house the oldest pipe organ in the Southern Hemisphere. Back in the early 1700s, on the other side of the world Queen Anne arranged for the English Paliament to impose a special tax that would fund the building of ten pipe organs, destined for London churches. For some reason, this particular organ, one of the ten commissioned, instead found its way to a country parish church in Shropshire. There it stayed until 1906, at which point it was replaced by a newer model and placed in a basement for storage.

When a young colonial family came from England to make Te Aroha their home, St Marks was still in the money-raising and building stage. The young wife (a Mrs Wayne) wrote to her family back in England and arranged for the organ to be donated to the new church and so it was shipped over to New Zealand.

Of the ten organs originally commissioned by Queen Anne, this is thought to be the only one still surviving - the others were placed in London churches and later detstroyed in the Blitz of World War Two.

I should like to say a big "thank you" to one of the church wardens - a gentleman who not only kindly kept the church open while we looked around, late on a Saturday afternoon, but who made a gift to me of a picture postcard of the organ and a leaflet detailing its history when all my coins were left in the car.

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Te Arohas Mineral Pools are an entire hot spring complex built in Edwardian style and catering for both adults and families. The pools are fed by thermal soda springs, and you can choose to hire a private hot tub, book an entire traditional bath house, relax in an adults-only outdoor spa or swim in the outdoor family pool.

If you want to hire one of the private hot tubs or the restored 19th century bath house, you will generally need to book in advance. If your visit to Te Aroha is an impromptu one, at least try to call into the pools when you arrive and try to get something booked for the later part of your day. The tubs are hired for 30 minute periods and have private en-suite changing and showering facilities. At the time of writing, hiring a tub on a weekday would cost you $10NZ (per person) rising to $15NZ on weekends and public holidays. Towels are available for hire.

There is also the worlds only soda water geyser in the grounds. The lady who showed us round the complex explained that you would need to be pretty lucky to catch it erupting, so at the time I didn't hang around waiting. However, I've since found out that erupts every 40 minutes or so.