On Friday, March 4, 2005, our APT tour left the wonderment of Rotorua and headed in the direction of Wellington.  Along the way, a stop was made to view the powerful flow of the Waikato River and the spill of its water over Huka Falls.

      At left is the foot bridge from the parking area that spans over the Waikato River.

      The overlook from which the photograph at left was taken is shown below.

      In the upper right corner of the photograph at right, the Waikato River overlook from which the above photograph was taken is occupied by about a half dozen people.

      The waters of the Waikato River flow downstream toward Huka Falls with increased velocity.

      As shown at right (verbatim):

Waikato River

The Waikato River system is the most highly developed for electricity generation in New Zealand.  It supplies eight hydro-electric stations and provides cooling water for two geothermal and one thermal station.

The eleven stations on the Waikato produce 65% of the North Island's power generation and approximately 25% of New Zealand's hydro power.  This is 15% of New Zealand's total power.

The level of the Waikato River above                

      Above and at left is Huka Falls.  The sign in the image at left reads as follows (verbatim):

Huka Falls

The unique blue colour of the water is due to the very clear water reflecting blue light.  The air bubbles in the water intensify the blue colour.

The water temperature varies from between 22ºC in the summer to 10.5ºC in the winter.

The volume of water passing over the falls varies between 32 and 270 cubic metres per second.  Depending on the flow, the falls fluctuate in height from 7 to 9.5 metres.

During the 1930s a small hydro-electric power station was constructed just below the falls.  It supplied power to the Wairakei Hotel until the mid 1950s when it was replaced by the municipal electricity supply.

At the base of the falls there is a dangerous undertow caused by the falling water plunging deep into the pool.