On a trip down to Taupo and Rotorua I had the chance to see and scan Hatupatu's Rock on Kinleith Road (State Highway 1). It lies in Ātiamuri which sits between Taupo and Rotorua, this is where the story of Kurungaituku takes place, or thereabouts.
This trip was going to cover scanning both Hatupatu's rock (and getting the general vibe of the area/rock) and going to the Red Wood forest in Rototua/Whakarewarewa.
Unfortunately, the trip was cut short due to New Zealand going into Level 4 lockdown as Delta cases were confirmed. On our way back we were going to revisit Hatupatu's Rock the next day, however, we were told to leave the accommodation before 9pm that night. So I was unable to revisit the rock to really get the vibe of the place.
Short Visit to the Rock:
Although it was more of a pitstop to stretch our legs and for me to get a 3D scan of the rock on my phone, it was a nice little space. The rock itself was cool to see but had small Mentos packs shoved into the small holes and crevices of the rock. In my haste to get enough photos for the scan I missed out on the chance to connect with the rock (touching it). The general vibe of the space was that it was a small pitstop, somewhat cast off to the side but right next to a busy state highway.
To get the full scan I did have to get close to the roadside barriers as it sits right at the edge of the stop. Working my way between the broken Ponga fence and the road barriers was easy enough, although there were many tripping hazards and the fear of potential vehicles crashing into you. It was a sad sight to see the Ponga fence broken (whole piece hit out making a hole where that one post was and the piece laying in the long grass).
The 3D scan of the rock does have the Mentos packets in it (light blue) and some other gunk inside the rock (water and something).
The quality of the texture on the rock dropped moving from my phone to the computer unfortunately, so there is a screen recording of the model on my phone too.
Moving Forward - Collecting Red Wood Scans / Redoing Hatupatu's rock
Once NZ is out of Lockdown I'll attempt to visit the rock again, take out any rubbish in/on it and scan it again. Hopefully quality won't be compromised moving it through devices the next time. I will also attempt to actually get to the Red Woods to scan them/see/experience it.
Comments