TAUPO

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31.07.09
In the last few days we haven’t been thinking about anything else. Despite what most of you may think, we were really in need of an holiday, an escape, a break, call it as you like.
Our weekend away.
So because we are on holiday, this morning we don’t want to rush. It takes little time to pack all we need, a brief stop to buy some food, and a last one to fill in the tank and check the car.
We’re driving on the SH1 but I’m still not sure where we’re going. The weather looks uncertain but we have absolutely no interest in it, we’re going away!
If you happen to be looking for some excitement, the road between Wellington and Wanganui will certainly put you to sleep. Country, country, country, flatness, flatness, flatness.
Anyway, we get to Wanganui probably just after lunch time, and I finally get to know where we’re going. Right. And the only reason is that we’re not supposed to be in Wanganui!
Michael missed the exit to Marton. So instead of going towards Taupo, where we’re heading, we’re now exploring the west coast.
Wanganui doesn’t have any attraction whatsoever, apart from maybe the Sarjeant Gallery, but we have no time now, so we keep on driving now on the SH4 to close the loop back on the SH1.
Up to Raetihi the landscapes changes dramatically and we find ourselves on winding roads through sharp hills and narrow valleys. My motion sickness decided then to pay a visit and stay until we stopped for lunch at Raetihi.
Soon after, one of the most spectacular surprises was about to uncover before our eyes. The incredible view of the Rangipo desert, with its shades of rust and pink, with the three peaks of the Tongariro National park in the background, covered in white. Absolutely stunning. The desert road is by all mean one of the best drive I’ve ever done.
The clouds have formed a thick layer overhead and hide the summits of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro, leaving only a blue circle ahead on the road.
I’m so amazed and fascinated by the colours of the soil here, they’re already telling us something about where we’re going. This is an area of extraordinary geological activity, from volcanoes to geysers and springs, this is exactly the kind of place I’m attracted to. Talk to me, soil!
It’s a shame we’re not going to have time to explore the National Park, it will have to be another time. Our road proceeds towards north and finally the immense beauty of the largest lake in this hemisphere opens up showing all his brilliant surface. Lake Taupo.
The town that takes its name seems to be there only for us, tourists I mean, with its huge number of hotels.
We have a fantastic accommodation, nice, clean, new, very warm, with our kitchen and a spa bath in the bathroom. This boy has made me very happy indeed!
We have plenty of time to relax and at night we enjoy a delicious, even if expensive, dinner at the Plateau. It’s not even raining anymore.

01.08.09
This bed must be a super king size because despite the usual nocturnal rolling and diving, Michael didn’t manage to interrupt my dreams! Jokes apart, we had a wonderful sleep in, and we’re now getting ready for the day. While we enjoy the feast of our breakfast, thinking of which I now feel desperately hungry, we get a phone call from Linda. Excellent, so we have the chance to say Happy Birthday. It’s also daddy birthday today but they will all be fast asleep at this time!
It has been raining all night and it’s not really showing any sign of clemency. But we already have our plan.
We drive to the nearby Craters of the moon.
It’s our first encounter with the real geothermal activity that marks so deeply (!) this part of New Zealand.
The car park is almost empty, which I interpreter as a good sign. There’s a small fee to pay to access the area and then you can follow the well maintained main path all around. We open our gigantic umbrella and step in.
I understand this valley of steaming craters and mud pools spread around in a surprising vegetation, came to surface only when the nearby Wairakei geothermal power station opened, lowering the underground water levels. We walk our way along the path and through the steam that wraps the air. It’s so warm it makes me happy already!
The patterns of colours are amazing, the bright green vegetation and moss, the pink, orange, yellow and brown of the soil!
Once we’re here we walk up the ridge for a look out over the valley, and for a moment I almost thought I was about to fly away with the umbrella.
We come back to the hotel for lunch so we can also charge the camera batteries that died after ten minutes at the craters.
On the way back we stop at the Huka Falls, but it’s so incredibly crowded that it’s worth a second visit another time. To tell you how much this resembles a real holiday, you should know that after lunch we also had a nap in front of the tv!
To keep this pace all day we spent the afternoon soaking into the boiling waters of Taupo Hot Springs. The place also comprises a number of “private pools”, one of which we managed to get for ourselves for the last part of our ‘afternoon bath’.
This feels really rewarding, my body will be eternally grateful!
The main pools were crowded, as much as you would expect on a Saturday, with kids and grown ups running all over the show, but I guess it doesn’t take much from the relaxing waters. Highly recommended are anyway the private pools, that can fit about five or six people and are a much more relaxing experience.
We’re back to our room in time for Grand Designs, I got the dinner ready, and we have wine and chocolate for the whole night…could we just turn this into our everyday? Please…

02.08.09
The sun is shining, finally. No rush today as well, but as soon as I get up, I get ready and go for my Sunday run. I go towards the lake that today looks all sparkly under the sun.
By the time I get back to the hotel I feel like I’m about to die, I don’t know if it was because of the altitude or for the wine, but certainly this morning run hasn’t been one of my best.
Thanks to Saint Michael I regain all my strength with a wonderful breakfast!
Today we’d like to see more mud pools and go to Rotorua, so we planned to spend all day out.
First destination is Orakei Korako, a thermal area a bit off the beaten track going north from Taupo. Because you can only reach it by private transport it is much nicer to visit than other thermal parks as it doesn’t get many tourists.
We buy the tickets and go out on the pier where only other three French girls are already waiting for the boat. The boat takes us across lake Ohakuri and then we’re free to go around and explore. Some say this is the best thermal area in New Zealand, and actually we wouldn’t be surprised if it was.
We highly recommend the visit, the place is incredibly beautiful and quiet, and among all the colourful terraces and the lush vegetation, it hides a wonderful cave with a pool at its bottom where you can descend through a series of steps. The only sound was the one of our steps down, it’s that kind of place where you’re scared to talk cause you feel like you’re breaking a balance.
We drive now towards Rotorua, but we’d like to stop on the way to Wai-O-Tapu to see how it is. It’s apparently another geothermal wonder, but we don’t even need to get off the car to realize that it would be another $40 each to see something very similar to Orakei Korako but with thousands of other visitors.
Better to go to Rotorua and then we’ll decide what to do next.
In town we go to the i-site to get some information and find out how to spend the rest of the day. We grab some sandwiches for lunch and we sit by the lake to eat.
The weather seems to be changing, which is not good news, but we have decided to go to Te Puia.
Te Puia is just on the way south leaving Rotorua. Supposedly an attraction for its Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, I suspect most of the visitors, like us, pay a visit mainly for the 500 springs and geysers.
The admission ticket includes anyway a guided tour with a member of a local maori tribe, so it’s up to you if you just want to wonder around on your own. We join a small group of people already gathering around the lady, so we get a bit of introduction on the place. As I mentioned, despite the reconstructed maori buildings that you can visit, the main attraction remains Pohutu, apparently the biggest geyser in the southern hemisphere. Our guide takes us up to the kiwi house, where you can see two young kiwi birds living in the dark, and then we’re dropped off at the geyser.
Like everyone, we sit on the hot stones on the plateau surrounding the geyser, and wait for the next eruption.
A lot of people give up, but we came here only to see this, and after one hour our patience is paid off and we’re standing in front of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen in nature. It’s simply outstanding.
We hang around a bit longer and on the way back we stop again to have a look at the kiwis in their own enclosed habitat. They’re so cool, and much bigger than I thought, almost the size of a big chicken. We also stop to have a look at the marae but, as usual, I’m not convinced by this reconstituted, or new built, houses.
Anyway, it’s time to head back to Taupo. It’s our last night here, so how about drinking some wine while bathing in our own private spa?
I think it sounds good, and in fact it’s really good. We loved these days of boiling water and mud.

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Photos

Steam rising
at Orakei Korako

Wrapped in steam
In a private pool at Taupo hot springs

V under the rain
at Craters of the moon

Steaming pool
Orakei Korako

Stream snaking throung
Orakei Korako

Yellow and white
Orakei Korako

Colors of the ground
Orakei Korako