The Swanson's New Zealand Trip

Taupo: 26-28 May

Enough of these big cities. Time to get out of the concrete jungle and back to nature! First thing Saturday morning we loaded our Nissan Bluebird and headed north toward the resort town of Lake Taupo. Our route initially took us along the west coast but quickly shaded inland toward the centrally located Lake Taupo district.

The drive was uneventful with more holiday travellers than commercial traffic. That meant we were tailgated by BMWs instead of MANs. Although our route took us close to many of the highest volcanic peaks on the North Island, they were shrouded in clouds so we didn't get to see their splendor. As has been the pattern, the cold weather and rain were following us from the South Island.

We passed east of Mount Ruapehu (2797 meters), a very recently active volcano. She wasn't too huffy that day, so we really didn't know she was there (the clouds...) We joined Lake Taupo at its southern tip and drove along its eastern shore to the town of Taupo. We got into town mid-afternoon, 442 kilometers from Wellington.

Our first order of business was to find a motel room. Lo and behold, for the first time on our journey there were "No Vacancy" signs posted. Turns out that there was some sort of horse show in town, so many of the places were taken (by people we think...) After looking a bit we found a beautiful suite in the Moana Reef motel at NZ$69/night. The rooms were beautiful, queen sized bed, spa, and a lakeside view.

After "settling in" we got back in the car and headed out for sightseeing. Our first stop was at Huka Falls on the Waikato River (the outlet of Lake Taupo). We got to see some 300,000 litres of water per second flow past. And then we watched as adventure seekers challenged the rapids in a jet boat... Barnum was right!

Returning to Taupo we stopped at a grocery store and stocked up on beer and junk food, and then had dinner at a very nice steak house. Then back to our room with full intentions of dipping in the spa, but our inertia prevailed and we never budged from our room.

The next day we slept in late and then headed out sightseeing. Our first stop was at Craters of the Moon (no, not the one in Idaho, this one is outside Taupo!) It was very, very impressive and we shot zillions of images (only room for a select few below.) After that we headed to the Taupo Volcanic Centre, where we saw video after video of Mount Ruapehu's latest outrage just a few years back. Then on to Prawn Park, where we learned how prawns are "farmed" in geothermically heated pools. We had lunch there—care to guess what their menu features?

After lunch we headed to the Orakei Korako Geyserland, this one requiring a boat trip across the river and quite a bit of hiking. The steam vents, mud pools, "rotten egg" atmosphere, and the colors were very impressive. Reminded us of Yellowstone Park, but in a much different way.

Returning to our car we decided that we'd "abused" our feet enough for one day, so we headed back to Taupo and our motel. By the time we arrived back at the motel all of the "horsy" people had checked out and the place was virtually deserted. We "vegged" out until dinner, which we partook at the Million Dollar View restaurant. We can't speak for the view since it was dark, but the lamb was exquisite...

Back at our motel we did get into the spa. When the two of us were sufficiently "pruned" we went back to our room and slept very, very well. In fact, we didn't set any alarms and enjoyed waking up "whenever". Once up we packed, loaded the car, and headed to Rotorua.

The "thumbnails" following this narrative are a select subset of our Lake Taupo images. They may be "enlarged" by clicking on them with your mouse pointer. Enjoy!

Moana Reef motel w/ Lake Taupo view	The art of towel folding...	Steam vents outside our motel on banks of Lake Taupo	SS outside our Taupo motel	Huka Falls
Huka Falls	Huka Falls	Breakfast in our Taupo motel room	Rainbow over Lake Taupo	Craters of the Moon
Craters of the Moon	Plant life in steam vents @ Craters of the Moon	Craters of the Moon	Craters of the Moon	Peel 'em yourself at Prawn Park
		Orakei Korako Geyserland
	Finally, the coulds lifted: Mount Ruapehu behind Lake Taupo	Taupo's "famous" Super Loo

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