2017-10 Wai-O-Tapu (New Zealand)

What do you do when your alpine crossing hike of Tongariro National Park gets canceled due to weather? Visit a geyser and thermal springs. New Zealand has a wide range of nature sites to visit and enjoy. We enjoyed beautiful, blue skies as we visited Wai-O-Tapu, a park of thermal hot springs.

The geyser erupts!

First, we made sure to get good seats while waiting for the geyser to erupt at 10:15 am. Such precision for a geyser to erupt at the same time each day! However, at 10:15, there was no eruption; and, a park staff member was standing next to the geyser greeting everyone in their respective languages. We soon heard the story of how the geyser was discovered by prisoners who were washing their clothes in the hot springs, only to have their clothes blown sky high by a geyser. It turns out that this geyser is two layers of water in a chamber: the upper layer is at 100 degrees C (212 degrees F); and, the lower chamber of water is 250 degrees C (482 degrees F) since it is under pressure. When the water comes in contact with a surfactant (as found in some soaps), it breaks the surface pressure of the upper chamber of water, and the pressurized water below it gushes upward into a geyser.

Mud flats

Next, we made a five minute photo stop at the mud flats nearby before heading to the all the different thermal pools within Wai-O-Tapu. It turns out that thermal areas can take on a variety of shapes and colors. One of the most colorfol placdes is the main Champagne Pool. Even my phone camera did the colors some justice. The colors are due to all the minerals in the water. The map lists gold, silver, mercury, sulphur (yellow), arsenic, thallium, and antimony (orange).

Champagne Pool

Perhaps the most impressive of them all was the "Devil's Bath" at the very end of the loop trail around the thermal pools. It was a vivid neon green, caused by sulphur + ferrous salts.

Devil's Bath

Be prepared to smell sulphur the entire time that you tour the grounds. It's a beautiful walk around unusual natural hot pools. We managed to do the 3 km walk in an hour and a quarter; but, the sulphur fumes were part of the entire experience.