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out_there_learning

Nature, geology, travel - New Zealand.
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The Mamaku Tors and conical mounds just west of L The Mamaku Tors and conical mounds just west of Lake Rotorua. These features are the eroded remnants of a very thick (volcanic) ignimbrite layer that was erupted 240,000 years ago, resulting in the caldera now occupied by Lake Rotorua. The puzzle is that there is no evidence that the rock was eroded by a river or glacier. So what was it that removed all that material and where did it go? And why are the remaining stumps so similar in dimensions, and distributed across a wide area many kilometres across?
Lake Rotorua (top left on Google Earth image) is a Lake Rotorua (top left on Google Earth image) is a caldera (collapse crater) from a massive super eruption about 240,000 years ago. It has a relatively simple, not quite circular shape about 10km across. Just to the East is another, much messier caldera atleast twice the size and about twice as old. Its original outline had been obscured due to the eruption of multiple later craters and lava domes so that now there are many separate lakes scattered within it. This is the Okataina caldera, and the photo of Bruce Hayward shows the caldera rim in the background across Lake Rotoiti. We explored these lakes for another Out There Learning video to be produced some time in the coming weeks 🙂
Prehistoric Megalith or mere natural rock outcrop? Prehistoric Megalith or mere natural rock outcrop? In the mid 90s claims were made that this was part of a pre Maori ancient pyramid like structure, and the debate is still alive in the minds of some people. Visiting the Kaimanawa Wall near Taupo with Bruce Hayward to see it through the eyes of a geologist. On our North Island video filming tour...
Mōhakatino cliffs, Taranaki, NZ. Incredible coast Mōhakatino cliffs, Taranaki, NZ. Incredible coastal erosion, tunnels, sea stacks, caves and a fossil forest
Mangapuhoe Natural Bridge, Waitomo District, NZ. O Mangapuhoe Natural Bridge, Waitomo District, NZ. On a video filming trip with Bruce Hayward
My cold water pool has been nicely washed by recen My cold water pool has been nicely washed by recent rains, and tempted me to a quick dip. Super chilly, but always so good afterwards...
The amazing lava slugs on the southern slopes of # The amazing lava slugs on the southern slopes of #Ruapehu volcano. Made when lava flowed down into melt water tunnels within a glacier and then quickly cooled to create smaller than usual cooling columns at right angles to the cooling surface. The slugs look like small fractured hummocks, quite different from the more common 'normal' lava flows.
Exploring the glacial features of #Ruapehu volcano Exploring the glacial features of #Ruapehu volcano on a beautiful day
Hiking the #tongarirocrossing with a school group Hiking the #tongarirocrossing with a school group this week. Always an astonishing palette of colours and volcanic landforms..
Lake Rotopounamu Lake Rotopounamu
Yep, I'm addicted. Flying at Tora, E coast of Nort Yep, I'm addicted. Flying at Tora, E coast of North Island, soaring up to 450m, tracking 34kms, and in the air for 90 mins. So exciting! Thanks for guidance from Sven and Marina 🙂
Lift off... Long Gully, Wellington South Coast tod Lift off... Long Gully, Wellington South Coast today. Thanks Sven Ericksen for the photos. #paragliding
#Wellington south coast - Island Bay, Owhiro Bay a #Wellington south coast - Island Bay, Owhiro Bay and Red Rocks. Vertically bedded and faulted greywacke, pillow lava, radiolarian chert. Just before the rain came in.. 🙂
A walk down #waimanguvolcanicvalley near Rotorua n A walk down #waimanguvolcanicvalley near Rotorua never fails to impress. The colours in the geothermal springs are sensational, and the history of the #mounttarawera eruption in 1886 is sobering and epic. It destroyed the Pink and White terraces in Lake Rotomahana and buried a wide area in mud, which can be seen exposed in the cliffs, in a landscape recolonised by a 'new' ecosystem.
Designing a geology field trip for schools at Huoy Designing a geology field trip for schools at Huoyanshan near Taichung, Taiwan. How did these boulders erode, get transported and deposited into a forest without getting smaller in size further from the source? The recent debris flow gave us the answer. A perfect inquiry exercise for school students, and the teachers had lots of great ideas for ways to investigate the area. We felt quite a few earthquakes over a few days though (up to M6.4), so you would have to be hot on the safety aspects of such a trip 😬
In Taichung, Taiwan, at teacher training conferenc In Taichung, Taiwan, at teacher training conference, running a geology education course for Waldorf / Steiner teachers.
See substack newsletter link in bio. #sciencecomm See substack newsletter link in bio. #sciencecommunication #scienceteacher #educationaloutreach
My first paragliding flight after completing my UK My first paragliding flight after completing my UK Club Pilot (NZ PG 2) qualification, and first flight in NZ at Castlecliff, Whanganui. What a great new way to appreciate landforms and the airflows they create, by floating along above them. Huge thanks to the Wellington paragliders for having my back yesterday. What a privilege!
The incredible Hooker Valley walk, with views of M The incredible Hooker Valley walk, with views of Mount Sefton and Aoraki. Although I've seen it many times, it never fails to impress
I had forgotten the sheer majesty of Milford Sound I had forgotten the sheer majesty of Milford Sound. It gave me the same sense of awe as Yosemite in California. Such a spectacle of the power of nature. Rock uplifted from kilometres down and sculpted by repeated glacial cycles. Even from a crowded tourist boat, you can't help but feel impressed!
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