Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland - Track 1, 2 and 3
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 2.4 mi
- Elevation gain
- 390 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 390 ft
- Max elevation
- 1,146 ft
- TrailRank
- 25
- Min elevation
- 1,034 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Moving time
- 56 minutes
- Time
- one hour 17 minutes
- Coordinates
- 683
- Uploaded
- December 25, 2023
- Recorded
- December 2023
near Waiotapu, Bay of Plenty (New Zealand)
Viewed 22 times, downloaded 1 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
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English text:
When Alice walked in Wonderland, she must have had almost the same feeling as I did today. The sulfur pools at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland are almost otherworldly, and each volcanic pool is more beautiful than the other. Especially the Devil's Bath and the Champagne Pool are wonders of Mother Nature.
To admire all this natural beauty, I start with a contradictory attitude and go against the direction of the trail. It is advised to go left at the beginning, but I prefer to go right to reach the most beautiful pools of this thermal park as quickly as possible. The consequence can be easily guessed: I am all alone at Devil's Bath, and the emerald green color of this pool is difficult to describe in words. Even photos almost do not do justice to the pungent green color of this chemically bubbling bath. Of course, I take my time to take pictures until the first visitors come from the other direction. Time to move on!
Not much further, the Champagne Pool awaits, the most photographed pool in the park. The steaming geyser plays with colors where the yellow residue of phosphorus sharply contrasts with the red of iron remnants. Due to all the steam, it is difficult to capture on sensitive film, and perhaps this is just as well. Such things should not be photographed but actively experienced! And that's exactly what I do to the fullest.
After this, I start with track two, and the volcanic activity is somewhat less impressive here. But still impressive enough to serve as a film backdrop for Lord of the Rings, so it remains spectacular in other words. However, the multicolored pools make way for pits and craters and more lovely scenes like a waterfall at track 3. By now, I am at the farthest point of the walk and must return. That turns out not to be an easy task because after two kilometers, a section is closed, and I have to detour for half a kilometer. After 2.5 km, I still have to see the other half of track 1 and 2, and especially track 1 contains beautiful things.
Here, probably the most beautiful viewpoint over the Champagne Pool is located, but the eager steam significantly obstructs the view. Well, that can be expected at a sulfur pool. Also, some volcanic craters rumble here and evoke thoughts of prehistoric times. I've seen everything in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, but that was a bit due to time pressure. If you have the opportunity to stay here longer, you should definitely do so because this is one of the most extraordinary volcanic parks I have ever seen in my life, even though I have been to Iceland and Costa Rica.
If you are in New Zealand, you must visit this park. It is probably one of the most beautiful volcanic parks in the world. Most attractions are found on track 1, but if you take the time to walk track 2 and track 3 extensively, you will also encounter very beautiful things. It is a popular park, so it's best to start here as early as possible (which is around half-past eight in the morning).
Dutch text:
When Alice walked in Wonderland, she must have had much the same feeling as I do today. The sulfur pools at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland are almost otherworldly and each volcanic pool is more beautiful than the next. The Devil's Bath and the Champagne Pool in particular are wonders of mother nature.
To admire all this natural beauty, I start with a contrary attitude and go against the direction of walking. It is advised to go left at the start, but I go right to get to the most beautiful pools of this thermal park as quickly as possible. The result is of course obvious: I am all alone at Devil's Bath and the emerald green color of this pool is difficult to describe in words. Even photos hardly do justice to the pungent green color of this chemically simmering bath. Of course I take plenty of time to take photos until the first visitors from another direction approach me. Time to get out of here!
Not much further awaits the Champagne Pool, the most photographed pool in the park. The steaming geyser plays with colors where the yellow residue of phosphorus contrasts sharply with the red of iron residue. All the steam makes this difficult to capture on camera and perhaps this is a good thing. You should not photograph such things, but actively experience them! And I do that to the fullest.
After this I start track two and the volcanic activity is a bit less impressive here. But still impressive enough to serve as a film set for Lord of the Rings, so it remains spectacular, in other words. However, the multi-colored pools make way for pits and craters and more lovely scenes such as a waterfall at track 3. I have now reached the furthest point of the walk and I have to return. That turns out to be no easy task, because after two kilometers a section is closed and I am therefore allowed to detour for half a kilometer. After 2.5 km I still have to see half of tracks 1 and 2 and especially track 1 still contains beautiful things.
This is perhaps the most beautiful viewpoint over the Champagne Pool, but the overzealous steam significantly obscures the view. Well, that's what you can expect at a sulfur pool. Some volcanic craters also thunder here and are reminiscent of prehistoric times. I saw everything in about 1h15, but that was also a bit due to time pressure. If you have the opportunity to stay here longer, you should definitely do so, because this is one of the most special volcanic parks I have seen in my life, even though I have been to Iceland and Costa Rica.
If you are in New Zealand, you should definitely see this park. It is perhaps one of the most beautiful volcanic parks in the world. Most of the sights are located at track 1, but if you take the time to walk track 2 and track 3, you will also come across very beautiful things. It is a popular park, so it is best to start here as early as possible (which is half past eight in the morning).
When Alice walked in Wonderland, she must have had almost the same feeling as I did today. The sulfur pools at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland are almost otherworldly, and each volcanic pool is more beautiful than the other. Especially the Devil's Bath and the Champagne Pool are wonders of Mother Nature.
To admire all this natural beauty, I start with a contradictory attitude and go against the direction of the trail. It is advised to go left at the beginning, but I prefer to go right to reach the most beautiful pools of this thermal park as quickly as possible. The consequence can be easily guessed: I am all alone at Devil's Bath, and the emerald green color of this pool is difficult to describe in words. Even photos almost do not do justice to the pungent green color of this chemically bubbling bath. Of course, I take my time to take pictures until the first visitors come from the other direction. Time to move on!
Not much further, the Champagne Pool awaits, the most photographed pool in the park. The steaming geyser plays with colors where the yellow residue of phosphorus sharply contrasts with the red of iron remnants. Due to all the steam, it is difficult to capture on sensitive film, and perhaps this is just as well. Such things should not be photographed but actively experienced! And that's exactly what I do to the fullest.
After this, I start with track two, and the volcanic activity is somewhat less impressive here. But still impressive enough to serve as a film backdrop for Lord of the Rings, so it remains spectacular in other words. However, the multicolored pools make way for pits and craters and more lovely scenes like a waterfall at track 3. By now, I am at the farthest point of the walk and must return. That turns out not to be an easy task because after two kilometers, a section is closed, and I have to detour for half a kilometer. After 2.5 km, I still have to see the other half of track 1 and 2, and especially track 1 contains beautiful things.
Here, probably the most beautiful viewpoint over the Champagne Pool is located, but the eager steam significantly obstructs the view. Well, that can be expected at a sulfur pool. Also, some volcanic craters rumble here and evoke thoughts of prehistoric times. I've seen everything in about 1 hour and 15 minutes, but that was a bit due to time pressure. If you have the opportunity to stay here longer, you should definitely do so because this is one of the most extraordinary volcanic parks I have ever seen in my life, even though I have been to Iceland and Costa Rica.
If you are in New Zealand, you must visit this park. It is probably one of the most beautiful volcanic parks in the world. Most attractions are found on track 1, but if you take the time to walk track 2 and track 3 extensively, you will also encounter very beautiful things. It is a popular park, so it's best to start here as early as possible (which is around half-past eight in the morning).
Dutch text:
When Alice walked in Wonderland, she must have had much the same feeling as I do today. The sulfur pools at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland are almost otherworldly and each volcanic pool is more beautiful than the next. The Devil's Bath and the Champagne Pool in particular are wonders of mother nature.
To admire all this natural beauty, I start with a contrary attitude and go against the direction of walking. It is advised to go left at the start, but I go right to get to the most beautiful pools of this thermal park as quickly as possible. The result is of course obvious: I am all alone at Devil's Bath and the emerald green color of this pool is difficult to describe in words. Even photos hardly do justice to the pungent green color of this chemically simmering bath. Of course I take plenty of time to take photos until the first visitors from another direction approach me. Time to get out of here!
Not much further awaits the Champagne Pool, the most photographed pool in the park. The steaming geyser plays with colors where the yellow residue of phosphorus contrasts sharply with the red of iron residue. All the steam makes this difficult to capture on camera and perhaps this is a good thing. You should not photograph such things, but actively experience them! And I do that to the fullest.
After this I start track two and the volcanic activity is a bit less impressive here. But still impressive enough to serve as a film set for Lord of the Rings, so it remains spectacular, in other words. However, the multi-colored pools make way for pits and craters and more lovely scenes such as a waterfall at track 3. I have now reached the furthest point of the walk and I have to return. That turns out to be no easy task, because after two kilometers a section is closed and I am therefore allowed to detour for half a kilometer. After 2.5 km I still have to see half of tracks 1 and 2 and especially track 1 still contains beautiful things.
This is perhaps the most beautiful viewpoint over the Champagne Pool, but the overzealous steam significantly obscures the view. Well, that's what you can expect at a sulfur pool. Some volcanic craters also thunder here and are reminiscent of prehistoric times. I saw everything in about 1h15, but that was also a bit due to time pressure. If you have the opportunity to stay here longer, you should definitely do so, because this is one of the most special volcanic parks I have seen in my life, even though I have been to Iceland and Costa Rica.
If you are in New Zealand, you should definitely see this park. It is perhaps one of the most beautiful volcanic parks in the world. Most of the sights are located at track 1, but if you take the time to walk track 2 and track 3, you will also come across very beautiful things. It is a popular park, so it is best to start here as early as possible (which is half past eight in the morning).
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