Simply put, New Zealand is gorgeous. The mountains, the lakes, the coastlines, the fjords, the beaches: Few countries can boast such a bountiful variety of nature’s best. Some of it is simply surreal—other-worldly colors, mud pools, boiling lakes, geysers, bubbling ponds, fumaroles. Director Peter Jackson clearly made the right choice when he opted to cast the country as his setting for Middle Earth in his Lord of the Rings trilogy. And one place that extends even beyond the surreal is Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Read more about it >