Waiotapu Attractions

The effervescent thermal waters of the Champagne Pool, highly charged with minerals, have earned it its name. Like other pools in the area, it sparkles in many colors, predominantly yellow, green and blue.

Waiotapu's top attraction is the Lady Knox Geyser, which spouts with almost unvarying punctuality at 10.15am and sends a jet of water high into the air.

This punctuality is achieved, however, with a little help. Soap powder must be thrown into the water: the sodium carbonate therein decreases the surface viscosity and sets the geyser off. This was discovered by convicts who used soap to do their washing in pools of thermal water.

The silicate terraces known as the Artist's Palette shimmer in all the colors of the rainbow, as the pink-and-white sinter terraces destroyed by the eruption of Mount Tarawera must have done.