Photograph of the week: Volcanic crater, White Island, New Zealand

If staring into a red-hot bubbling abyss sounds like the adventure getaway of your dreams, look no further than White Island, New Zealand. Often referred to as the world’s most accessible active volcano, White Island is a living, breathing, roaring, hissing example of Nature at its most angry… A roiling mass of geothermal activity, steaming vents releasing 800°C toxic gases, bubbling pits, hot volcanic streams, and a lake of steaming acid. Even more exhilarating? You can stand on the edge of all this, right on the crater, for a view into the depths of the earth.

Think we’re being overly dramatic? Consider this: the full Maori name for the island is ‘Te Puia o Whakaari’, which means ‘The Dramatic Volcano’.

Situated 49km off the coast of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty, on New Zealand’s North Island, White Island is a circular volcano approximately 2km wide, 321 metres high, and, most impressively, 1.6km deep. Drawing its power all…