Impossible Place
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From the signposts you can see a sampling of just a few of the many many volcanoes that occupy the central part of the North Island. Some are dormant, others active.
The dark crater view with the steep sides is from the highlight of my trip, a hike into the caldera of Mt. Tarawera. When this one erupted in 1886 over a hundred people died in what was the most tragic eruption in New Zealand's human history. The blast was so tremendous that a rift structure was created at the top of the volcano, instead of the usualy roundish caldera.
The yummy coloured hot springs derive their colour from nasty elements such as mercury, arsenic, bismuth, antimony, etc. I believe I saw waters of every single colour you can imagine, including jet black. Now that's eerie. The best part of the hydrothermal wonders are the mud pits. Stinky and primal and noisy and the earth being gassy and bubbly.
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