Taranaki

Hawera er suður af stóru eldfjalli sem heitir Mt Egmont eða Mt Taranaki og hér fyrir neðan fylgir Maori sagan um fjallið:
Ruapehu, the beautiful maid, was married to Taranaki. One day, while her husband was away hunting, she was wooed and won by Tongariro. When Taranaki returned at the end of the day he surprised the guilty pair. A titanic battle ensued in which Taranaki was defeated. He retreated towards the west coast, carving out the course of the Wanganui River as he went. When he reached the coast he moved northwards to the western extremity of the North Island, where he rested. There his great weight made the shallow depression which afterwards filled with water and became Te Ngaere swamp. Taranaki, or Egmont, as Cook named him, now sits in silence looking towards his wife and his rival. In spite of her infidelity, Ruapehu still loves her husband and sighs occasionally as she remembers him, while the mist, which drifts eastward from his head, is the visible sign of Taranaki's love for her. For his part, Tongariro, who despairs of ever possessing her again, smokes and smoulders with anger. To this day travellers in the Tongariro National Park see the basin called Rua Taranaki, “the Pit of Taranaki”, which lies to the east of the Tama Saddle which was the original home of Taranaki.

Það er óhætt að segja að fjallið gnæfir yfir öllu öðru hér á þessu svæði og er mjög tignarlegt að sjá. Það gýs að jafnaði á hundrað ára fresti, með stórgosi á 500 ára fresti. Það er löngu kominn tími á það, en það eru víst 200 ár frá síðasta gosi! Það hefur farið vel um okkur á mótelinu hérna í Hawera og gott að komast í sundlaugina hinum megin við veginn. Strandvegurinn suður og vestur af fjallinu er kallað Surf Highway og þykir einn besti staður Nýja Sjálands fyrir brimbrettaiðkun. Við kíktum á Opunake ströndina og eyddum þar jóladeginum í sandkassaleik!