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With the luxury of unlimited wifi in our campsite we carefully picked what activities were top of our list in the vastness of opportunities that Taupo presented.
Taupo has won the number one spot as 'top tourist town' three years on the bounce as well as holding the trophy for the biggest lake in the Australasia continent. In truth, the mammoth lake is actually the product of an immense caldera (collapsed volcanic crater) and is the same size as Singapore!
We settled on a trip to Huka Falls (it was free and my twin recommended it) and made our way their after lacing up our walking shoes and preparing for a good hike. Huka Falls is actually a thirty second stroll from a car park and we looked thoroughly absurd in our walking gear, complete with waterproofs and snacks. The Falls themselves were very impressive despite not being very tall, dropping from a height of only nine feet. The power of it however is immense, the water from Lake Taupo is forced through a narrow gorge and picks up tremendous speed - the water gushes through at 250,000 litres a second, that's enough to fill two Olympic swimming pools. Intriguingly, Huka is Maori for foam and it's clear to see why, the force of the water kicks up white froth for a good ten metres from its base.
Having spent a mere fifteen minutes at the Falls as apposed to the half day activity that we expected, we made our way back to town for a nose about. I'm excited to report back that we found the illusive Pack N Save, NZ's cheapest food store and stocked up on all the essentials. After that I splashed my twin's Christmas cash that she gave me on a magnificent Volcom hoodie that I've been searching for since Wanaka, it looks utterly stupendous (Jesus, I do apologise, what a boring paragraph).
Shopping done (we also purchased water bottles for our Alpine crossing in the near future) we headed out in search of the Maori carvings on the cliffs of Mine Bay. Unfortunately, after walking through some winding foliage down to the lake's edge we were told that we couldn't get to the carvings unless we went by boat or canoe (50 dollars each - robbery)! I've worked out however that I could probably swim around to it and have equipped myself accordingly and intend to swim it tomorrow. By 'equipped' I mean that I have purchased a pink, foam woggle from a corner shop for five dollars and am going to doggy paddle my way there whilst wearing my snorkel, let no one ever again say that I'm not safety conscience!
Strategic swim planned we sat by the waters' edge and read our books with a cup of tea and some coconut biscuit things that tasted like carpet. I'm on my third Jack Reacher book in five days, I'm devouring the b*****s. I just keep exchanging them in the numerous second hand book shops that NZ has to offer.
We are now in Reid's Farm campsite, it's gigantic and free with hundreds of tight campers like ourselves here. I'm currently wearing my head torch and reading whilst tutting audibly at the Germans that (as you'd expect) have brought a bloody guitar.
Oh well, Chelsea has her sky dive tomorrow which she's starting to get nervous about, a 12000 feet drop here we come!
- comments
Amy Haha, I didn't say it was a hike at Huka. That money wasn't for Christmas... I'm glad you've finally spent it! I also love those jack Reacher books!
Laura What are these books?
Matt the Saucy They're books by Lee Child. He solves crimes, they're very addictive.