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| Steam rises at Orakei Korako, a geyser and hotsprings park near Taupo. |
Our itinerary for New Zealand did not include Taupo (TOE-paw). We considered it early in our planning and decided to spend our time elsewhere. Cyclone Gabrielle, however, closed our hotel in Napier (and most of the Hawkes Bay region), meaning that we had to compete with other displaced travelers to find three nights of accommodations elsewhere. We could not find three nights at the same hotel anywhere between Hahei and Wellington, so we settled on two nights at two different places in Taupo. The third night, based on the recommendation of a restaurateur in Hahei, would be in Martinborough, very close to Wellington.
Most visitors to Taupo seem to be families with children, and there's a lot to do and see with kids, whether toddlers or teenagers: a huge McDonalds playground with a real airplane to climb in, jetboat rides on a fast-flowing river, parasailing, walks through a geo-thermal park, and more. The two places we stayed, however, the Gables and the Reef Resort, had few if any children and seemed to cater more to couples. The restaurant scene runs mostly to bar food and Indian, which makes sense since Taupo seems to have a significant South Asian community. We had two dinners here, one downtown at The Bistro, which we would have revisited the next night had it been open, and the other at a waterfront hotel a short walk from the Reef Resort.
Lake Taupo fills a large crater that is the caldera of Taupo Volcano. The town of Taupo is on the lake's northeastern shore. By surface area, 238 square miles or 616 square kilometers, Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand. The lake is drained by the fast-moving Waikato River, which has series of hydroelectric dams that supply a substantial portion of New Zealand's power needs. A portion of the Waikato River features rapids called Hukafalls that can be seen from a park and experienced on jet boat rides.
Another attraction, also not on the lake itself, is Orakei Korago, a geyser park on nearby Lake Ohakuri. A quick boat ride takes visitors from the parking area, ticket counter and cafe across the lake to a network of trails and stairways ascending through streams of near-boiling water, mists of steam and bubbling hot springs, all with rocks painted by various natural chemicals. It seemed like a smaller version of the Paint Pot and other hot springs and geysers at Yellowstone National Park. When we arrived there, we noticed that a grated drain beside our parking space had steam rising from it. The waters at Orakei Korago are hot!
Here are some photos:
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| Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand by surface area. |
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| Above the "E" you can see a parasailing kite, which is being pulled by a boat. |
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| Parasailors seem to soar higher than the hills that surround Lake Taupo. |
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| These parasail riders get a bird's eye view of Lake Taupo. |
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| Black swans near Lake Taupo's shore. |
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| A sign identifies this as the "World's Coolest McDonalds" in Taupo, a family vacation destination for New Zealanders. |
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| Spectators watch as Hukafalls drains Lake Taupo. There are eight dams that use the power of this water to generate electricity. |
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| Jetboats offer thrill rides at Hukafalls. |
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| Ground water far below Orakei Korako is turned into steam by geothermal energy. |
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| Salts and other minerals, combined with super-heated water, have painted the landscape at Orakei Korako. |
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| We almost didn't notice this tiny hotspring. |
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| Many tourists rent camper vans for traveling around New Zealand. We saw Juicy and other similar vans every place we went. |
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| A tiny boat is dwarfed by the enormity of Lake Taupo. After seeing Lake Taupo along with several glacier-created lakes on the South Island, I left New Zealand thinking that this country has more fresh water than it really needs, I live in Southern California, so naturally I'm envious. |
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