Trip to geothermal park of Wai o Tapu in New Zealand
August 18, 2011

The New Zealand trip continues with an excursion at the Taupo geothermal area featured by geysers, boiling mud pools and ponds colored by the presence of various minerals. The day ends with a visit to a geothermal power plant, where electricity is produced starting from the vapor present below the ground.

(Click on a picture to see an enlarged version)

Geyser in New Zealand Lady Knox Geyser
Lady Knox Geyser pictures. The eruption of this geyser is "stimulated" by dropping into its mouth, at scheduled intervals, a lump of clay which, by mixing the underground layers of water at different temperatures, results in an eruption that will last a few minutes.

 

Erupting Geyser Geyser eruption
Eruption of Lady Knox geyser in New Zealand.

 

New Zealand Wai o Tapu geothermal park
Wai o Tapu The tour continues at the geothermal area of ​​Wai Tapu in the heart of New Zealand where craters, colored lakes and fumaroles are immersed in a pristine landscape.

 

Geothermal activity Crater
In Wai Tapu geothermal area, there are numerous craters that have various fancy names, such as "The House of the Devil"or "The Thunderer Crater".

 

New Zealand geothermal activity Craters
Generally, the craters have a diameter that can reach 50 meters and a depth of about 20. They contain hot water springs and, sometimes, sulfur vapor which create colored deposits along the wall of the crater.

 

Colored lake Green lake
The Devil's Bath is a small crater which contains water with a stunning bright green color, thanks to the presence of salts and various sulphates.

 

Yellow lake Lake with mineral salts
More photos showing beautiful lake with green-fluorescent waters.

 

Colored lake in New Zealand Colored lake
Geothermal springs Artist palette
Champagne pool Geothermal spring
New Zealand
The "Artist's Palette" and "Champagne Pool" are lakes whose waters are colored by deposits along the banks of large quantities of various kinds of minerals, including gold, silver, mercury, sulfur, arsenic, thallium and antimony, which produce vibrant and surreal colors.

 

Silica Silica deposits
Silica salts
These miniature terraces are created by water rich in minerals that flow from the Champagne Pool, depositing along their route large quantities of silicates.

 

Wai o Tapu New Zealand
New Zealand geothermal springs
The excursion to Wai O Tapu in New Zealand continues walking along the banks of different colored lakes and ponds, some of which are full of boiling water.

 

Green lake
The trail ends at the lake Ngakoro, having picturesque emerald green waters.

 

Bungee jumping in New Zealand Waikato river
After the tour to Wai Tapu, the trip in this beautiful part of New Zealand continues to Taupo, with a brief stop at the top of a steep slope onto Waikato River, where fans can enjoy bungee jumping.

 

Trout farm
Large pools where shrimps are farmed.

 

Taupo lake Taupo
Excursion to Taupo lake, a popular tourist destination also for the inhabitants of New Zealand.

 

Waikato Huka falls
New Zealand Huka falls Huka Falls is a picturesque waterfall, that with a jump of 20 meters, has a maximum capacity of 220,000 liters of water per second. At this point the Waikato River, which is 100 meters wide, passes through a narrow gorge about 15 meters wide, greatly amplifying the fury of the water.

 

Geothermal plant New Zealand geothermal plant
Wairakei The tour to Taupo in New Zealand ends with a visit to a geothermal plant which uses the steam created by the geothermal energy in the ground, to generate electricity.

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NEW ZEALAND PICTURES

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