North Island, New Zealand

As you'll recall, New Zealand is made up of two large islands (plus some smaller islands). Although we've spent most of our time down on South Island, North Island is not to be missed! Here are some pictures we took while exploring the mountains, the forests, and the caves. Can you tell that the mountain in the photo above is a volcano? Would you go inside a cave with just the light on your helmet to see?

North Island also has some awesome geothermal features! That means it has geysers, hot springs and mudpots. They are fascinating and beautiful. They are also fun to watch because the heat inside the ground heats up the groundwater, causing it to shoot high into the air as a geyser. Sometimes the water boils and bubbles in a mudpot, making a blurping, blubbing sound.

Click here to listen to, and see, mudpots in action!

Click here to see an animation of how a geyser works.

Click here to see hot springs in other countries.