The Boiling Mud Pools of Waiotapu

The Boiling Mud Pools are one of the coolest things you can see in the Rotorua area, right near the Waiotapu geothermal park. Although entry into the park itself costs NZ$27.50 per person (about US$15 and falling), the mud pools are outside of the confines of the park, so you can conveniently see them for free.





It's more than worth it to spend 15-20 minutes just watching these weird and creepy pools of boiling, globby, burping and gurgling mud.

I've never seen anything like this before; it felt like being on another planet, except that the mud had a weirdly familiar smell, sort of like a big pot of split pea soup with a side order of rotten eggs. And for proof of everything but the smell (as well as proof that we can master loading videos onto blogger), have a look at both of these brief videos: