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Taupo
Arrived in Taupo in the evening and met up with our friend Eva from Austria. By pure coincedence we found out that she would be there at the same time as us. We had a quiet drink down by the lake edge watching the sun set. Both me and Em noticed how little she drank compaired to us. It seems that other nations treat drinking with a more mature attitude. Shame on us.
Waikato River
After getting up early in order to hire a car we forgot it was sunday and not many places would be open. We ended up being lucky and found a place that would hire a car out to us. We had a lovely Ford Mondeo, and the three of us jumped in. We drove to Mount Tauhara (which apparently looks like a pregnant woman from certain perspectives) which looms over the lake, and on arrival decided it was too far to climb. Thank god it wasnt going to be a repeat of the Castle Rock Trek. So we carried on to a place called Whangamata Bay for lunch. There were lots of tame ducks who ate out of my hand!!
Huka Falls
We than headed for the Waikato River which is the longest in New Zealand, stretching from the lake all the way up to Auckland. First we visited the Huka Falls. We were amazed by how blue the water was (again). We first saw the falls from a bridge. Upstream the water flowed from a relativley calm lake then gushed down the deep, narrow river course over rocks. At the end the falls cascade into the wide river at the bottom. They have speed boad trips up to the bottom of the falls which drive through the spray. That looked like great fun!
The Craters of the Moon
We then drove to The Craters of the Moon, which was a wide open area of volcanic activity. There was what looked like moorland with lots of steaming holes and a few bubbling mud craters. Some of the craters were really massive and letting off so much steam. The active area has grown a fair distance over the last 50 years. The ground is still very unstable, constant 'danger' and ' keep to the path' signs - which we chose to ignore sometimes. The walk lasted about 45mins and by this point we were knackered.
Aratiatia Dam
We hopped back into the car and arrived at the Dam just as the siren was going off to signal the release of the dam gates. Perfect timing. The water is released 4 times a day, and flows to the hydroelectric power station. This river produces 15% of the nations energy. The Kiwis are very energy efficient. They also have geothermal power stations to harness the power from the active volcanic areas. When we were looking down at the still river it was very hard to imagine where the water would go as there was a high wall of rocks. When the water was released it gradually built up and thundered down the rapids. It didnt take long before the whole area was transformed from a trickle to a thundering river. God help anyone if they were to be swept down there.
Hot Water Stream
We imagined the hot water stream would be like the pools on hot water beach, very specific locations and lot of fights. When we arrived after a walk through the park we found that it was infact a waterfall that runs into a wide part of the Waikato River. There were a few people there but they were just getting out. It was yet another amazing natural phenomenom. The water temperature was like a hot bath, almost to hot. We walked a little further out into the river hoping for the perfect temperature. This appeared impossible though, there was no happy medium. So it didn't take to long to get used to the warmth!!! Every now and again we had to take a dip into the cold (we hoped the extremes in temperature was going to be good for us). By this time it was getting busier, but there was still plenty of room. We noticed a few of the others were enjoying standing/sitting right under where the stream was gushing out; i thought they must be crazy as it looked boiling. Sam braved it though, and so me n Eva then tried it. It was like the best massage ever and the heat was surprisingly nice. We eventually dragged ourselves out of the luxury and back to town. We said our farewells to Eva and all wished each other well in the rest of our travels. Maybe one day we will meet her again ....if we do Europe we will have to visit her. We also got Carmen's number from her; hopefully we will meet her own the South Island as she is working in Dunedin.
Lake Taupo
Next day we had planned to go on a cruise of the lake. We woke up to rain so were a little disapointed but not disheartened if the boats were going out then we were going regardless. We pootled down to the harbour to check they were running. It turned out only one skipper was gonna brave the rain and was optimistic bout the weather. We booked upto go on his boat at 2pm; the 'Ernest Kemp'.
As it happened there were only four other passengers, not surprising due to the grey day. They were all English too.I guess we can hack it better than the rest of the world. It seems that many of the other nations including the Kiwis just don't 'Do rain'! or anything in it at least. Our skipper was very friendly and informative. As we started the tour he gave us some general facts about the Lake. It was created by an earthquake 20,000 odd years ago and is approx 600 sq km in area. It is world famous for its Rainbow Trout. There is also a strict limit on fishing them. You are only allowed to catch three a day per person. Due to this they are not sold comercially if you wanna get one for dinner you have to catch it yourself.
He took us around the edge of the lake; the first little village we saw was Jeruseleum. Along this stretch were some very nice houses set amongst the lush green slope/cliff. Also round a little further was a property was owned by Rod Stewart and Rachel Hunter; not a particularly large buliding but with an almost all glass front. From which i imagine on a clear day you would have a stunning view across the lake and the mountains. It was a little bit of a shame the weather had got worse and mist had swamped the lake.
Next port of call were the Maori rock Carvings; even on first glance they very impressive. Though i felt a little knocked aback when finding out they weren't historical as i had presumed, but infact commisioned in the 70's. This didn't draw away from there beauty and intricasy though. They were all based on presise maori culture and history; very relevent to the area. In the Large carving seen in the picture there are so many different lines and patterns on his face; all representing different family trates as well as personal occupations and accomplishments.
After the excitement of the carvings (which were quite recent actually- comissioned for a celebration of some sort??!!) we had tea and biscuits and chugged back to the harbour. The evening was spent in the sauna(sam) and avoiding couple sharing single bed in our dorm (both of us).
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