Few things illustrate the dynamic and tentative nature of scientific investigations like the ongoing quest to locate the Pink and White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana. As an intriguing science mystery, the terraces have it all – worldwide fame, a recently discovered 19th century diary, sophisticated technology and puzzling photographic evidence. The quest to find the terraces also provides a fitting story about how science works – as the investigations take circuitous, contradictory and surprising investigative paths.