Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland

I got back from New Zealand a couple of months ago, and since then I have been too busy romping the rest of the US to share any pictures. These images are from a place on the North Island called "Wai-O-Tapu" which basically translates to 'sacred waters'.





Pink steam surrounds me from all sides and the thick stench of sulfur fills the air. You breathe with the movement, your body becoming part of the flow of air, hot and thick and in and out you search for an answer out in the center of a Champagne Pool. Not noticing the hundreds of people that have come to this place just like you to feel the universal pull on a holy power. It is an abyss that seems will never end. I feel as though I am at the edge of a cliff and also grounded at the very core of the earth. Who knew such magic could be felt at a tourist attraction.



Clouded Blue



Family in Fog



Vertical Erosion



Crack



Golden Steam



Hell



Layers of Life



Shape



Palette



Mom



Gate Over Edge



Me



What is Left



Arbor



Memory



Lava


Me in Orange