Taupo
Last weekend all of the study abroad students had a geology field trip to Taupo. It is pretty close to Rotorua so there was more volcanic activity to study. It wasn't quite as fun as a free weekend where we got to decide everything we wanted to do, but we still saw some pretty cool sites and had one afternoon to do whatever we wanted.
The Taupo area has three large volcanoes that dominate the skyline. The first day we went up this one, Ruapehu. It's actually a ski area during the winter which is pretty cool. In all my years of skiing I've never done it on a volcano. It must take a lot of snow before it opens, because these lava flows are pretty rocky.
We spent the entire second day hiking on this second volcano, Ngauruhoe. It is better known as Mount Doom from The Lord of the Rings. It's a lot bigger than it looks in this picture, but you can check that out for yourself in the movie.
This is the view from half way up the volcano. A lot of this area reminds me of Wyoming because there were mountains, not too many trees, and you could see forever. Dad, I bet those lava flows and pyroclastics make you so excited! Although, my professor neglected to mention anything about oil.
Here is another picture of Mount Doom with me in it to prove to Mom that I'm still alive. I also like how the clouds kind of make it look like it is erupting. All of these volcanoes are still active, and the one that created lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, is the source of the largest eruption known to man.
On my free afternoon I decided to go jet boating on white water rapids. This is a smooth part where the driver likes to throw the boat into 360's, but the boat can also go both down and up rapids. I don't know exactly how fast we were going, but judging by the way the wind ripped over my face I would say it felt a lot like sticking your head out the window of your car at 70 mph.
The Taupo area has three large volcanoes that dominate the skyline. The first day we went up this one, Ruapehu. It's actually a ski area during the winter which is pretty cool. In all my years of skiing I've never done it on a volcano. It must take a lot of snow before it opens, because these lava flows are pretty rocky.
We spent the entire second day hiking on this second volcano, Ngauruhoe. It is better known as Mount Doom from The Lord of the Rings. It's a lot bigger than it looks in this picture, but you can check that out for yourself in the movie.
This is the view from half way up the volcano. A lot of this area reminds me of Wyoming because there were mountains, not too many trees, and you could see forever. Dad, I bet those lava flows and pyroclastics make you so excited! Although, my professor neglected to mention anything about oil.
Here is another picture of Mount Doom with me in it to prove to Mom that I'm still alive. I also like how the clouds kind of make it look like it is erupting. All of these volcanoes are still active, and the one that created lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, is the source of the largest eruption known to man.
On my free afternoon I decided to go jet boating on white water rapids. This is a smooth part where the driver likes to throw the boat into 360's, but the boat can also go both down and up rapids. I don't know exactly how fast we were going, but judging by the way the wind ripped over my face I would say it felt a lot like sticking your head out the window of your car at 70 mph.
posted by Patrick at 4:45 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home