Taupo, New Zealand (Aotearoa)
38° 41' S 176° 4' E
Nov 11, 2003 07:22
Distance 83km

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Craters of the Moon

Text written in: English

We had a busy day. The Craters of the Moon were awesome; they did seem a bit like an alien landscape. Steam poured out of vents from all sides and there were weird hissing and popping and bubbling noises coming from under and around us. The walk around the park was supposed to take forty-five minutes; it took us just shy of two hours. We are willing to make a public concession to Marc and Mark: geology is kinda cool.
After the Craters, we wandered up to the Volcanic Activity Centre where we rode the earthquake simulator four or five times, put together tectonic plate puzzles, learned why geysers gush, watched really cool videos about eruptions that have hit New Zealand, and found out why earthquakes happen. On the way back to the main road (we're doing all this walking because we got a free shuttle bus to Craters but didn't really think about how we'd get back, by the way) we stopped into the Honey Hive where we both decided that bees and honey were kind of gross. Then on to the Huka Falls, which were stunning, and a two-hour hike back to the hostel. By this time we'd been walking for close to nine hours and, after a pathetic attempt at mustering up some food, we collapsed quietly in a corner.
The next day was less draining but no less fun. We went jetboating. This is something I've never heard of outside NZ, but it seems to be a big deal here. The gist of it is as follows: a mildly insane driver pilots a really fast-moving boat along a river, often executing 360s and 180s with a few seconds' notice. You get soaking wet, but it's an exhilirating ride -- especially when he zooms along centimetres away from rock walls or zips down (and then back up) a series of quite serious rapids. We left a wake of startled birds and angry kayakers behind us.
After the ride, we were wet and freezing so we drove up to some hot springs we'd passed on the hike the previous day. We weren't going to get any wetter, so we just jumped in with our clothes on. The water was nice and hot, and we warmed up pretty quickly. And it was even free!

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Photos / videos of "Craters of the Moon":

Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Matt disappearing into the steam at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Matt is obscured by mist at Craters of the Moon. A steam vent at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Boiling mud pools and steam-obscured hills at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents and boiling mud pools at Craters of the Moon. Craters of the Moon from the ridge vantage point. Boiling, plopping mud pool at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Steamy vents at Craters of the Moon. Bees are gross. Cat putting together tectonic plates at Taupo's Volcanic Activity Centre. Matt really didn't want to take this photo. He used the excuse that we had no one to take it for us. Yay for timers! Cat taking pictures of big, weird-lookin' trees near Huka Falls. The forest near Huka Falls. The Cat in the forest near Huka Falls. Matt climbing a giant tree trunk in the forest near Huka Falls. The water being churned up by Huka Falls. Chickens in the Huka Falls carpark. Huka Falls. Rooster in the Huka Falls carpark. The water being churned up by the Huka Falls. Matt under a giant tree on the walk from Huka Falls. Submerged trees on the walk from Huka Falls. One of the scary dogs that came out of nowhere at top speed on the way back to wherever he came from. They turned out to be quite nice. One of the scary dogs that came out of nowhere at top speed on the way back to wherever he came from. They turned out to be quite nice. Submerged trees on the walk from Huka Falls. More bleedin' lupins! (It's a Monty Python thing) Submerged trees on the walk from Huka Falls. Cat in the hot springs after jetboating. Matt in the hot springs after jetboating.
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