NZPhotographer Issue 59, September 2022

the volcanic activity in New Zealand were used to
navigate to the land by early Maori settlers in about
the fourteenth century.
Volcanic activity has been part of the culture of
Aotearoa since its early settlers, and it continues
today. Volcanic activity is known worldwide for its
destructive effects on the landscape and people.
However, in Aotearoa, it is part of life. Volcanic
activity is part of Maori legends of love and war; and
how the land country was formed. The geothermal
effect of volcanic activity is used as a heating source
in their villages and for cooking and bathing. These
benefits became a tourism industry that started in the
1800s and still exists today.
When I arrived in Aotearoa in 2014 for the first time,
I feared its volcanic activity because I did not
understand it.
However, this soon became a passion after I
completed the Tongariro Alpine Crossing for the first
time in 2015. In 2018, I started visiting the area more
often to photograph it. This fascination expanded to
other volcanic locations and geothermal parks and
became a project to which I dedicated myself.
NZPhotographer
September 2022
69