We went to see what happens when someone dumps a bag of soap down the cone of an active geyser. The cone is actually not natural. It was formed by placing rocks around the base of the original spring to enhance the eruptions. Legend has it that the geyser was discovered by a group of prisoners on a break from work detail who decided to do their laundry in the hot water spring … using copious amounts of soap.
The geyser does not have a Maori name since it was only discovered in the early 1900’s by the prisoners, and not earlier by the local Maori. It was named after the Lady Constance Knox, the second daughter of Uchter Knox, 15th Governor of New Zealand.
