Don’t let the Oz-esque colors deceive you. The emerald lakes you see above are nestled within New Zealand’s imposing Mount Tongariro, a compound volcano and one of the three active volcanoes that dominate the North Island’s landscape.

In New Zealand, tourism is a national institution contributing $15 billion to its GDP in 2010. And after watching this video, it’s easy to see why.

Not a force to be reckoned with, the Maori battalion (consisting of indigenous Polynesians residing within New Zealand) proved the most decorated New Zealand battalion during World War Two.