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A natural geothermal wonder, the Champagne Pool is the crown jewel of Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, one of New Zealand’s most vividly colored volcanic landscapes. Sixty-five meters across and scalding at its core, this hydrothermal eruption crater shimmers in surreal hues of turquoise, emerald and deep orange, its rim stained by precipitated antimony, arsenic and sulphur minerals that constantly bubble to the surface like carbonation, giving the pool its fitting name.

Set within the wider Waiotapu geothermal field, sacred to local Māori as taonga, the site unfolds across boardwalked trails past craters, mud pools and the striking Devil’s Bath. Steam curls from fissures in the earth, carrying a mineral tang, while native bushland frames the otherworldly palette. Best visited in the soft light of morning, when the Lady Knox Geyser erupts nearby, the Champagne Pool rewards visitors with a rare, humbling glimpse of the planet’s restless interior — a landscape more alien than earthly, yet entirely, powerfully real.