Te Aroha

Te Aroha developed as a spa in the 1880s and 90s around hot mineral springs at the foot of Mount Te Aroha, and the Edwardian domain at the centre of town survives largely intact - the wooden bathhouse buildings, the band rotunda, the tea kiosk and the formal grounds. Its oddity is the Mokena Geyser, which erupts to several metres on an irregular schedule of roughly forty minutes and is described as the only hot soda water geyser in the world; it is in the middle of the park with a fence round it and no ceremony at all. The restored bathhouse offers private mineral baths. Behind the town, tracks climb Mount Te Aroha - the Bald Spur lookout in about an hour, the 952-metre summit in three to four, steep and often muddy, with a view over the Hauraki Plains. The town's Edwardian character survived because, like Greytown, the economy stalled.

History

The name comes from the mountain, Te Aroha-a-uta, "love flowing inland". The Te Aroha Block was surveyed in 1879, and George Lipsey, who married Ema, daughter of the chief Morgan Hou, was the first European to settle; gold was found nearby on 11 September 1880, a spa was founded in 1883, and the railway made it a popular resort by the late 1890s (Wikipedia, Te Aroha).

Highlights

• The Mokena Geyser - hot soda water, erupting roughly every forty minutes.
• The Edwardian domain - bathhouse buildings, rotunda and grounds.
• The mineral baths - private tubs in the restored bathhouse.
• Mount Te Aroha - an hour to the lookout, three to four to the summit.

When to go

Any season for the domain and baths; October to April for the summit. The geyser is irregular - expect to wait or to miss it.

Practical notes

The geyser's timing is approximate and it is a modest spout rather than a spectacle. The summit track is steep and muddy and takes longer than the distance implies. The town is quiet with limited dining.

Nearby

Matamata and Hobbiton are south; the Karangahake Gorge is north-east.

Key facts