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Taupo and Rotarua
Leaving wet and windy New Plymouth behind us, we headed east to Tongariro National Park. We hoped to tackle the Tongariro Crossing, a one day walk across a snow capped inactive volcano. Unfortunately the weather conspired against us, with fast winds and a fresh dumping of snow on the high ground making it too dangerous. The DOC (Dept Of Conservation) info centre told us we might be able to go a couple of days later, so we headed an hour north to Taupo in search of other activities.
Taupo is the sort of place thrill-seeking backpackers head to for bungee jumping, sky swinging and other such craziness. We had hoped to fish and kayak on Lake Taupo but again the weather was against us and the waves on the lake were too big. Unperturbed, we went jet boating and kayaking on the nearby River Wanganui instead. Both were brilliant; one fast and furious with 360 degree turns and a soaking from the spray, the other sedate and peaceful. We kayaked passed a popular bungee jumping point, where nutty teenagers were busy paying hundreds of dollars to jump off the cliff over the river. They had the option of a dry jump, or to be dunked in the river, before hanging around until the dingy came out to get them, hooking them on the end of a large pole and pulling them in to the boat, head first. Not very glamorous! We also passed a natural hot pool where we jumped out of our kayaks and bathed in the really hot water coming straight out of the rocks - pretty awesome.
Taupo is home to several thermally active areas. Not ones to miss a tourist buck, the Kiwis have built a raised walkway through the steaming ground and bubbling mud pools. And not ones to pass up a tourist attraction, we went in for a good old look around! It's beautiful but pretty strange to see the ground smouldering. Across town in another thermal hotspot we bathed in the hot pools. Running from the changing huts to the pools was freezing ( it's the winter here) but we instantly warmed up in the 40 degree water! We were joined by some of the Welsh rugby team who were winding down after a day of training at a local rugby club. The boys were pretty impressed and had a chat with them. Joss just admired their muscles!
After another consultation with an experienced hiking guide, we resigned ourselves to the fact that wind was still too bad to return to Tongariro for the crossing. So we headed north again to Rotarua, on our way towards Auckland for the next rugby match. Rotarua is famous for it's geysers and it's Mauri population (around 35% of inhabitants in the town are Mauri). We visited a 'traditional working Mauri village', which was interesting but a little strange as the it is open to tourists 364 days of the year, making it feel more like a theme park than a traditional village. Putting that aside, we enjoyed the tour of their natural baths, stone ovens (using the thermal water for heat) and their traditional meeting house. We ate a meal cooked in the ground and saw the villagers sing traditional songs and perform a haka. The faces they pulled were pretty scary- tongues out and big eyes!
We took a gondola ride up the hill for a view over Rotarua Lake. There's an island in the middle where legend has it a young Mauri girl swam out to meet her lover, a warrior banished from the mainland. At the top of the hill there are three luge tracks. Joss took the scenic track down and was overtaken by several people, including a small child. Neil and Paul raced down the intermediate and advanced tracks, managing to get all three wheels off the ground at one point- Lewis Hamilton eat your heart out! Great fun and delicious hot chocolate at the top of the gondola!
Joss
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