One Day in Taupo

So yes we are on Vacation. We have been in Napier, a small city in the province of Hawkes Bay for a while now, in fact almost 2 months. We are slowly running out of things to do, so when we both get a day off together it's tourist time. When we get a couple of days off together we leave town, a vacation within a vacation. This trip was inland to a place called Taupo. Taupo is situated smack in the middle of New Zealands geological wonderland. The area is ripe with Volcanoes and lakes. The town was settled on the edge of a caldera. A caldera is a lake that forms when a volcano erupts and leave a massive crater in the ground. This is a major tourist stop, and the other day we discovered why.

The drive over to Taupo from Napier was 2 hours, we stop at a scenic lookout and were greated with this giant waterfall. We took pictures to prove we were there...

This is our proof.

Next up on the agenda was a area called Craters of the Moon. Craters of the Moon is basically a large geologically active crater. There was heaps of steaming ground, bubbling mud pools, tourists, scientists, craters within craters, multi-coloured soils and unique vegetation. There was a small kiosk at the front entrance, while we were talking to the volounteers who run the park, one man stated that he had just felt a minor earthquake. I asked if it was an earthquake or the beans he had for breakfast. He was unimpressed and we were quickly on our way. Here is an assortment of photos and a video.

Bubbling mud. (you might be able to see it if you click the photo and scan the enlarged version, I am pointing in the direction of the mud)

Crater within a crater...

Steaming ground and tourists, maybe some scientists.

Multi-coloured soils and vegetation.

Steaming ground. The hissing in the clip is the actual noise of the steam leaving the earth.

The area has been tapped for geothermal energy, one of the first in the world to harness this natural resource.

The next stop was the Honey Hive. Honey products were both produced and sold here. It was a solid place of commerce. Here was the most exciting part, a bee hive made out of plexi-glass. you could see the bees. My world will never bee the same.

The next stop was the Huka Prawn Park. We heard that this place featured Shawn the Prawn. I was hoping that there would be a Giant Prawn similar to the one in Ballina, Aus. I was sadly disappointed when I found out that there was no giant prawn. But you could pay 20 bucks to fish for prawns or fire golf balls into the prawn pools and try and win money... Take a guess what we did.

Next up was Huka Falls. It is a water fall that is very easily accessable. There were lots of tourists, lots of water and two boats full of suckers who spent 95NZD each to ride the jet boat. They got 60 feet closer to the falls than we did. We still have 190NZD.

This is our proof.

After that we went home and had a nap, lots of things to do makes for tired hobbits. When we woke up we ate and filled up our packs with towels, swim trucks and beer and headed off to a natural hot springs. Located in the middle of town a small creek enters the Waikato River at approxamtely 40 C. The idea is simple, show up, strip down and soak as needed. This was the high light of Taupo. Much better that almost hitting the prawn feeder at the Prawn Park.

We left the next day to drive back to Napier where we both had to work. On the way out of town we stopped on the lack front to get a photo of us and the Volcanos in the back ground. Andy then whispered in my ear that maybe before this trip is out, perhaps she may even bungy jump. Things may just get extreme!