Beasts of New Zealand Mild Trivia Quiz

Answer: Auckland

The warm and sunny city of Auckland is New Zealand's largest at over 1.5 million. Its "Sky Tower" has long been the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. The tower offers a casino, revolving restaurant and for the completely insane, a monster "SkyJump" where you can plunge 192 metres (630 feet) just for fun.

Auckland has around fifty "dormant" volcanoes. "Active" volcanoes are those that have erupted in the past 10,000 years. Active but dormant volcanoes are not erupting now, but are likely to one day. Extinct volcanoes we believe will never erupt again.

Answer: Bay of Plenty

White Island (Whakaari) is in the Bay of Plenty, so named by James Cook in 1769, noting its splendid abundance. The volcano has had regular minor eruptions since 2012, a low beastly growl so to speak, but in December of 2019 an eruption unfortunately killed 21 and severely injured 27. Poison Cove and Storm Bay are real places.

Answer: Sulfur

Sulfur, a bright yellow element not toxic in its solid form, was mined from White Island (Whakaari) volcano long after a crater wall collapsed in 1914 killing all 10 miners (but not their cat). Sulfur is used in many things including matches, fireworks, rubber, fungicide, black gunpowder and fertilizer. But the sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and halogen gases constantly spewed by this devilish volcano are indeed noxious, and that impressively beautiful misty steam can reach 800 degrees Celsius (1,472 Fahrenheit). Pumice stone is mined from the Bay of Plenty over which White Island looms.

Answer: Mount Ruapehu

The Department of Conservation has warned hikers, skiers, snowboarders and botanists to avoid the "Summit Hazard Zone" of Mount Ruapehu several times in the 2000s, because North Island's big and active volcano has enormous temperature changes and there's an "increased risk of eruption".

Historically Ruapehu erupts about every 50 years. Previous eruptions caused earthquakes, halted air travel, killed 151 by crashing a train, trapped or killed adventure seekers, and closed roads. By contrast this beast is the highest point on North Island, offering its only glaciers, a crater lake, stellar ski resorts and spectacular views.

Answer: Pacific Ring of Fire

The Pacific Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped "ring" along the continental coasts, containing the world's most active and dangerous earthquakes and volcanoes. There are over 450 volcanoes there. New Zealand is included because it is located at the boundary between the Pacific tectonic plate and a complex collision of smaller plates. Neighboring Australia is not, because it sits directly on a single plate. Anita Carter penned a great song called "Ring of Fire" which Johnny Cash made a hit. You'd almost think he had been there:

I fell into a burning ring of fire,
I went down, down, down and the flames went higher
And it burns, burns, burns
The ring of fire, the ring of fire

Answer: North Island

New Zealand is composed of two central landmasses, the North Island, also named Te Ika-a-maui, and the South Island, named Te Waipounamu, separated by the Cook Strait. All the active volcanoes are on North Island. New Zealand also claims about 600 smaller islands. Its capital city is Wellington. On North Island you'll find this massive sheep dog in a small town called Tirau. It's at a junction of highways taking you to various volcanoes. In New Zealand you'll find other giant beast statues--a trout, a ram made of corrugated iron, a sandfly, a salmon and Clydesdale horses, to name but a few.

Answer: Volcanic ash

Volcanic eruptions on the North Island, such as the Kahoroa eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1314, are used to help figure when the early Polynesians arrived at New Zealand. There was so much volcanic ash the fossilized footprints of what scientists propose may be second or third generation colonists were found preserved on islands in the Hauraki Gulf. Researchers think a 1280 arrival is about right.

Answer: Rome

Among New Zealand's most beastly volcanic eruptions was the super-volcano Taupo (Hatepe) eruption about 180 CE, 1,800 years ago. In just a few minutes it vomited a column of material believed to be 50 kilometres (31 miles) high. It was among the most violent of the past 5000 years, and turned the skies of Rome and even places in China deep red. Taupo is located in the center of North Island.

The photo is the famous Colosseum of Rome.

Answer: Hell's Gate

At New Zealand's Tikitere, also known as Hell's Gate, you can visit areas of geothermal activity, thermal pools, geysers and as shown in the photo, boiling mud. Occasionally hot mud is tossed violently, but most "mud volcanoes" are just soft mounds of oozing steamy mud emerging from below--though occasionally it is mud tossed up from a "submarine" volcano underground. You'll want to see the steaming lakes and the biggest hot waterfall in the southern hemisphere, Kakahi Falls. Take a tour about the Maori indigenous culture, then find yourself a mild place, such as one of the exquisite sulphur and mud bath spas.

Answer: Ngauruhoe

Mount Doom of Hollywood's "Lord of the Rings" is fashioned upon the New Zealand volcano called by a Maori word--Ngauruhoe. The photo should cue you the name you want is Maori, though the meaning is undecided. Ngauruhoe erupts frequently yet is a popular climbing volcano. It does spew sulphurous gases and some injuries have occurred due to its loose surface. Englishman J. C. Bidwill (1839), the first European to climb it, called the crater "the most terrific abyss I ever looked into or imagined". A beast, indeed.