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Lake Taupo, the biggest lake in NZ don't u know. It was a beautiful day when we arrived there and looking out over the water was like looking out to sea, stretching out for miles.
We read about all the different things to do in the area, as you do when you get to a new place, and one of the main highlights was Huka Falls which are like the most powerful and most photographed waterfalls in NZ apparently. Now this was on the list of free things to do, along with... hmmm... looking at the lake, which we had just done. Heading down to the falls you could hear the water crashing down and turning onto a footbridge you could stand right over the waterfalls. Grant then decided he had read somewhere or seen a sign saying that the best views of the falls were up a muddy track. I wasn't too sure as we we were standing above them at this point and thought that was probably the best view we were gonna get. However not wanting to challenge the geography master I said ok and off we went. Every few minutes he would jump into the bushes saying he could hear gushing water, only to find that at the bank it was just a stream rushing by. After walking another half an hour we could not even hear the sound of water at all anymore and we kind of had to accept that we were in the middle of nowhere and Grant was wrong! Ah well, not to worry Grantster, at least we saw a really cool looking toadstool as we trekked back.
So back in Taupo we decided to hit the town and as it was a Thursday night thought that it would be a goodun... hmmm, not so much. Towns and cities in NZ don't really come alive unless it is a weekend so the few bars we went to were pretty much just oldy man and his mate propping up the bar - yay. Eventually we came across a backpackers bar however and there we were able to feel slightly more like travellers once again. That night we had had to park the van in a carpark due to lack of funds but thought it would be ok cold-wise as we could just flick the gas burners on for a bit to warm it up. Unfortunately however, for the first time since we have been in the van, we ran out of gas, a second after we put them on. How bloody typical! As it was 2 in the morning there was no chance of getting any more gas so it was into hats, scarves, socks, joggers and sweatshirts before bedding down... thank the lord we had a fairly hefty beer jacket too.
The next day, after thawing out, we headed off to Orakei Korako (love these Maori names) which is�said to be the best thermal area in NZ. It is a massive collection of completely natural gysers, hot springs, boiling mud pools and bubbling sulphur pools. They are a spectacular sight and we spent a good few hours wandering round and taking in all the natural wonders. Some parts are bizarre with huge craters in the ground spitting out boiling water and steam, maybe like the moon, although I've never actually been.
Ok, that's about it I reckon. Next Rotorua for some more 'extreme' activities...
Linz x
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