By JO-MARIE BROWN
The Pohutu Geyser in Rotorua has billowed steam and shot boiling water high into the air for a record 146 days without showing any signs of petering out.
Nearby, mud pools are boiling over at a faster rate than ever before, while White Island, in the Bay of Plenty, continues to belch steam and fiery-coloured ash after an eruption 11 days ago.
The recent surge in geothermal and volcanic activity in the region has many wondering what else Mother Nature might have in store.
Two Rotorua homes had to be demolished in 1998 after geysers sprang up under their foundations.
This year, a 5m crater was formed on the same site when a mud pool erupted.
The resurgence of Pohutu, which has smashed its previous record of 40 days' continuous play set in 1936, has left the chief executive of the nearby New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute at Whakarewarewa, Graeme Osborne, wondering if something mysterious is going on.
"The geyser playing for this length of time is extremely unusual, but the activity throughout the region seems to be increasing," he says.
"The White Island eruption is an example of that."
But Environment Bay of Plenty, the regional council that monitors geothermal activity, says the latest events are nothing new and can largely be explained.
Paul Dell, the director of regulation and monitoring, says the geothermal aquifer that lies beneath Rotorua is between 22,000 and 50,000 years old.
"So in geological terms the latest burst of activity is minute."
The aquifer's level began to drop last century as people drew more and more hot water to the surface, so in 1986 the Government closed all bores within 1.5km of Pohutu, says Mr Dell.
As a result, water levels have risen up to 2.5m, which has cranked up the pressure and restored many geothermal surface features to their former glory.
But Mr Dell emphasises that, ultimately, geothermal activity cannot be controlled.
"We're dealing with Mother Nature and a very dynamic and unpredictable system. A geyser could pop up tomorrow and another could disappear.
"Pohutu itself could simply be geothermal fluid changing direction beneath the ground and being channelled into that vent as opposed to coming out somewhere else," Mr Dell says.
Meanwhile, White Island's pressure levels are continuing to build, with the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences expecting more explosive action soon.
Volcanologist Brad Scott says the latest eruption, in which a new vent of magma blasted open a crater 120m across, is part of an eruptive episode that began in April.
Tourists have been warned to steer clear of the island.
But again, the renewed activity comes as no surprise, with institute staff having expected the eruption since 1995.
As for whether Mother Nature is trying to send some sort of message, Mr Scott says the eruption and the geyser's long run are pure coincidence.
"There is a relationship between volcanoes and geothermal sources but in terms of White Island bubbling away at one end and Pohutu at the other, forget it.
"People have not been able to demonstrate that there is any direct connection."
North Island's thermal area steaming mad
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