Well...it is Friday, October 25th...albeit still fairly early in the day. Today is wheels-up day for my flight to New Zealand. I leave Winnipeg this afternoon on a trip that will take me through Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and Melbourne before setting down in Wellington.
Given that I was up a bit sooner than I expected, I sat down at my computer to see what was new in the world. Interestingly, one of the image galleries presented to me when I first opened up the internet was entitled "13 extraordinary places to see before you die". While clicking through it, I was pleased to note that two of these places are in New Zealand.
The first New Zealand site is the Moeraki Boulders found along the southeast coast of the southern island. These gigantic boulders started forming on the ocean floor and can now been seen sitting mysteriously on the coastline thanks to centuries of erosion. Unfortunately, my upcoming travels will not bring me very close to these natural wonders.
The other place noted in the slide show is the Champagne Pool. This is a colourful hot spring in the Waiotapu Geothermal area of New Zealand. I just happen to be spending a couple of days in the nearby town of Rotorua. The surface temperature of the big spring is 74 degrees Celsius and it's bubbles are due to uprising carbon dioxide. Minerals contained in the hot water are gold, silver, mercury, sulphur, and arsenic. One of our divisional trustees visited this area previously and recommended that I bring nose plugs. Apparently, the visual beauty is accompanied by a rather pungent odour.
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