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Buried within the steaming landscape of Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, the Champagne Pool is one of the Earth’s most visually arresting geothermal features — a vast, otherworldly crater lake spanning 65 metres in diameter and plunging 62 metres deep, formed by a hydrothermal eruption some 900 years ago. Its waters hover at a near-constant 74°C, releasing a perpetual veil of carbon dioxide bubbles that rise silently to the surface, lending the pool its effervescent name.

What sets it apart is its extraordinary palette: the pool’s interior glows in deep jade and turquoise, while its outer rim blazes in vivid bands of saffron, rust, and gold — mineral deposits of arsenic, antimony, and sulphur precipitated over centuries into a natural border of surreal beauty. The surrounding silica terraces and steaming vents complete a landscape that feels primordial and alive.

Located 27 kilometres south of Rotorua in New Zealand’s Taupō Volcanic Zone, Wai-O-Tapu — meaning ‘sacred waters’ in Māori — holds deep cultural significance for the local Māori people, who have long regarded this land as tapu, or sacred.