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**Parihaka** · 02-28-2008, 18:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T_igger_cs_30

I will never forget when I arrived in New Zealand at the School of Armour in Waioru,to take up my post as an exchange Gunnery Instructor( a great tour cannot talk about a lot of it in case Mrs Tigger hears ) I was used to seeing "fire orders" displayed in buildings, as I was shown to my room in the WO's and Sgts mess I saw on the wall "Earthquake orders" and my host at that moment explained to me always look out the window in a morning and check the volcano (Mt Ruapehu, I think please correct me if my memory is fading Pari ) anyway he said if there was smoke coming out the top we are ok...............effing great I thinks to myself, the wife always says I could sleep through an earthquake after a good night out and drink...........now I was panicking I was going to find out

Yep, Ruapehu is the one Waiouru is closest to.
It's one of three (Tongariro, Ngauruhoe are the other two) which are side vents to Taupo, the main caldera.
You know how Waiouru is on the south side of the desert road plateau? Where the road climbs steeply to the north?
Most of that material of the plateau is the initial ejecta formed in two explosions by the Taupo caldera, one 26,000 years ago and the more recent and violent in 181ad. Both the Romans and Chinese recorded the stratospheric ash clouds from that one, and what is now known as lake Taupo is the vent. (no doubt you visited Taupo while you were there?)
I stood on the flanks of Ruapehu during the last sizeable eruption in 96, it was absolutely awesome and thank god was only a fart in comparison to the big eruptions.