We were very excited to have P's family come to visit for a couple of weeks- a great opportunity to show them around and to catch up with them. Even better, we were lucky enough to both be able to take a week off of work to explore the country with them a bit. We started their visit with a weekend trip down to Rotorua, to see some good ole' fashioned volcanic activity.
However, our main attraction was the daily 10am blowing of the Lady Knox Geyser. None of us had ever seen a geyser in action before, so we didn't know quite what to expect.
Once we had our fill of geyser photos, we went back to the main park of Wai O Tapu to explore the colorful geothermal wonders.
One of the things that stuck out in my mind were the tornadoes of smoke blowing across the colorful crater lake. We didn't manage to quite capture it on film, but it was entrancing to watch.
Another impressive thing was the lake at the edge of the park. It was quite sizeable and clear and calm. It was filled by a small waterfall and you could see the waters mixing together. The water from the stream was white with rock minerals and mixed with the rest of the lake.
The last lake was the most exotic of them all though. It was much smaller than the one I just described above, but it was a beautiful strange green that I've never seen water before. Apparently it can be yellow on sunnier days, so I guess we got lucky to see it in it's full green glory.
We of course had to make a stop at the mud pools to see some boiling mud. The water level seemed a bit lower than I remember it, but the mud did not disappoint.
However, our main attraction was the daily 10am blowing of the Lady Knox Geyser. None of us had ever seen a geyser in action before, so we didn't know quite what to expect.
All we knew was that this one is encouraged each day with a catalyst similar to soap, allowing tourists like us to queue up and see it erupt.
To be honest, the initial eruption was a bit disappointing, and half the people left right after. After another minute or two though, the geyser erupted again and lasted for ages! We didn't even manage to stay for the whole thing. It must've gone on for over 40 minutes. It's remarkable to think that there's so much water trapped beneath the surface that just suddenly decides to come out. How does all that pressure build up to maintain such a strong stream of water for such a long time?
Once we had our fill of geyser photos, we went back to the main park of Wai O Tapu to explore the colorful geothermal wonders.
One of the things that stuck out in my mind were the tornadoes of smoke blowing across the colorful crater lake. We didn't manage to quite capture it on film, but it was entrancing to watch.
Another impressive thing was the lake at the edge of the park. It was quite sizeable and clear and calm. It was filled by a small waterfall and you could see the waters mixing together. The water from the stream was white with rock minerals and mixed with the rest of the lake.
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