On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Paul in St. Augustine
I have visited this country twice, each trip encompassing business (a little) and pleasure (a lot). Pictures do not do justice to the beauty of this country. Most of this set is from the Craters of the Moon Geothermal Walk, located north of the town of Taupo, on Lake Taupo. It is in the middle of the north island, almost equidistant from Auckland to the north, and Wellington to the south.
The beginning of the 45 minute walk through the park. There are numerous hot springs parks in the vicinity.
Craters of the Moon Scenic Reserve is the largest in the region. This is the largest of the craters, about 130 feet across.
In the 1950’s, a local power company began drawing water from underground. As the water level below ground dropped, the remaining water boiled. The steam that resulted escaped through whatever opening was avialable.
The boiling water is visible at 6 o’clock.
There were scores of these smaller release vents throughout the area.
A different perspective of the largest crater.
I spent about 10 minutes collected an amazing number and types of seashells. Unlike shells I have collected in the US, these shells had a pungent odor. My solution was to run them scrub them thoroughly and leave them out to dry overnight on the patio table. Sadly, by the time I remembered to collect them, I was almost 2 hours away.
An extinct volcano along the eastern side of the island, on the South Pacific Ocean.
raven
Awesome!
Wag
The last photo is a place where I would love to spend some time. Great framing.
Nelle
Home, sweet home! I lived about 10 minutes away from Craters of the Moon, in Taupo. My husband worked for GNS, Geological Nuclear Science, so we got to hang out with a rather wonderful bunch of international scientists. Out my kitchen window? The hige lake, and a ross the lake, three volcanoes. I miss it tremendously, but am grateful for tge privilege of experiencing it a d actually living there.
Viva BrisVegas
@Wag:
That looks like Mount Maunganui, near Tauranga.
It’s was a major cruise ship port, when the cruise ships used to run.
The town has an excellent pie shop.
eclare
Amazing what goes on under our feet. And scary.
Betty
Seriously dramatic landscape!
Ken
@eclare: Scary indeed. I have been to Yellowstone once, and could not quite ignore the thought “This is basically a thin crust over a huge volcano.” Really affected my enjoyment of the boiling water shooting out of the ground unpredictably.
gratuitous
Lake Taupo really exists? Huh. I thought it was just something the screenwriters thought up for William Powell to wax poetic about in “Libeled Lady.”
Cowgirl in the Sandi
Loved these pics. We have visited NZ several times and it is wonderful! One of the most interesting places was Hot Water Beach – where the boiling water seeps up as the cold ocean washes in. People rent shovels and dig holes for ‘hot tubs’. It is so weird to stand on the beach and have the cold water washing over your feet while you feel hot sand underneath your feet!
WaterGirl
I loved these pics, too. Surprised not to see more comments, but maybe it’s that kind of day.
Paul in St. Augustine
@WaterGirl:
Maybe because there aren’t any birds? :)
J R in WV
When we visited Yellowstone, I knelt on the board walk and put my hand on the soil beneath the board walk. It was HOT!
And that’s when I realized how thin the earth’s crust was, and how active things were just out of sight. Out west there are lots of places with recent lave excursions visible. New Mexico, AZ, CO, WY, etc, etc.
Scary when you think about it!
Shit can blow up without a moment’s notice!