Taupo
Posted by Anura Samara, 28 January 2016
Mudflats and waterfalls on our drive from Rotorua to Napier.
Taupo was just a stop on the way from Rotorua to Napier but there was so much to do that it’s worth a blog post in its own right.
Waiotapu Thermal Track
We knew we wanted to see some of the thermal mud pools but so many of them see to be commercialised affairs – walled off from view with an entrance fee required.
It was pure chance that led us to take a detour from the main road to the Waiotapu Thermal Track.
From the car park, it’s a short walk on a well made path to the main pond. There’s plenty of viewing spots around the pond and an elevated viewing platform a little but further along. Any of these vantage spots provide great views of the mud bubbling away with clouds of steam presenting an ever-changing view. Watching the mud is mesmerising – the shape and size of each small explosion of mud is constantly changing.
Huka Falls
Just short of Taupo is Huka Falls – it’s really easy to get to.
You access the viewing area for the falls across a bridge that spans a tight channel through the rocks with water rushing through. It’s pretty mesmerising to watch so much water rushing underneath you – the water is a really vivid blue colour. The falls themselves are where all of this water exits the tight channel and spews into a wider river. It’s not a high waterfall as you would see in the mountains but is more like an overflow from a damn in a flood. The sheer volume of water means it sprays directly outwards and it’s incredibly noisy there. We had read about the range of activities at the falls and while we were there a tourist boat came up the river towards them followed by a jetboat which came in much closer to the falls, giving the passengers a good spray.
Another short stop in a place that seems to have so much to offer.
Taupo
Taupo itself looks like a resort town based around it’s very large lake. We didn’t get to stop or explore for long – just long enough to find a camera store to blow a hair from the sensor on my camera and then some lunch on the Lake Terrace. The rain was starting to set in and we wanted to get to our overnight stop in Napier.
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