• Tagged blowholes, geology, nature, New Zealand, Pancake Rocks, Paparoa National Park, rock formations

On the edge of the New Zealand’s Paparoa National Park, you can walk among bizarre rock formations, many that resemble stacks of pancakes. The Tasman Sea surges into undercut cavities, booms, and then seawater geysers shoot through blowholes, making the spectacular natural attraction of blowholes in Pancake Rocks a “must see” at high tide and/or storms. [45 Photos]

• Tagged environment, Fiordland National Park, Milford Sound, Milford Track, nature, New Seven Wonders of Nature, New Zealand

Beautiful Milford Sound is one of New Zealand’s most popular destinations. It’s a fjord located in the southwest of NZ’s South Island and is within the Fiordland National Park. Rudyard Kipling once dubbed it ‘the eighth Wonder of the World’ and its natural beauty is internationally renowned. Having been carved by a glacier, hundreds of temporary waterfalls cascade off the steep cliffs after a heavy rain. Milford Sound is another of the 28 finalists in the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition. One side note, as a bonus, if you ever have a desire to get away from it all for real, to poof off the radar for the ‘ultimate privacy,’ New Zealand is the most highly recommended place where you can ‘vanish’ without a trace and live a happy life. [43 Photos]

• Tagged Artist's Palette, bizarre, Champagne Pool, environment, geothermal pool, nature, New Zealand, photos, pictures, places, travel, Wai-o-tapu, wonderland

This geothermal pool, called The Champagne Pool in New Zealand is lovely, perhaps romantic? The water bubbles much like a bubbly glass of champagne from which it gets its name. But before you take a dip, you might like to know it’s hot — over 160 °F and the colors, well . . . some of them come from arsenic and sulfide deposits. It was formed by a hydrothermal eruption 900 years ago. It’s in a crater with a diameter of about 213 feet; the geothermal pool is 230 feet deep. These sacred waters are the most colorful geothermal area in the New Zealand. It’s known as the Champagne Pool at the Artist’s Palette at the Wai-o-tapu Thermal Wonderland. We love these pics!