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Published: December 26th 2006
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Aratiatia Dam
The calm before the storm... If I told you that one of the highlights of our day today was watching a dam open, you might think that it doesn't sound very exciting at all - but I'm here to tell you otherwise! We rolled up to the car park just before noon and quickly jostled for a place on the bridge overlooking the tiny little Aratiatia dam. A flock of tour buses had obviously had the same idea so it was a bit busy but once we made it through the crowds we were ready for quite a unique display of mother nature's power.
At midday a siren went off, the signal that the dam was about to be opened. Then, just as we were thinking nothing was actually going to happen, the first of the two floodgates was cracked open a notch. The water crashed through the gates and within minutes the once tranquil, shallow, clear waters of the basin below the bridge were churning away with the turbulent roar of thousands of gallons of water. As the water level steadily rose, the floodwaters gained momentum and began seeping gradually over the massive bolders strewn across the old riverbed. We watched, mesmerised, as the
Open Sesame!
The floodgates are open! waters began to thunder over the rocks turning the little trickle of a stream into an immense series of white water rapids.
Further downstream there was a path leading to a viewing area so we hotfooted it over there in time to watch as the waters ploughed their way down to the main body of the river. It was an amazing sight to see. After half an hour, the floodgates were closed again and we continued to watch as the water gradually ebbed away again, returning the rapids to their docile state once again. Apparently this spectacle takes place every 2 hours from 10am to 4pm in summer and it really is something quite incredible to witness.
On a whim, we decided next to take a drive along Route 1 which leads north from Taupo to Hamilton. There was a sign for a place called the Hidden Valley which sounded suitably mysterious so we detoured away from the main road. It was a very hilly part of the country and driving along the virtually deserted road felt almost like being on our very own private rollercoaster. There were pine trees absolutely everywhere that looked just like tiny Christmas
Dam Good Rush
As good as any rock concert,Glynn? trees stuck on top of some over-long trunks (maybe that's how they really grow Christmas trees?). The road often streched out for miles before us and with no other traffic around, it felt as if we had been transported away to the vast plains of the of the American midwest.
The Hidden Valley really lives up to its name by the way because we honestly didn't see it until the very last bend and if it hadn't been signposted, we would never have known it was there. The valley is centred around a lovely little lake with people busy doing all sorts of watersporty stuff on it like waterskiing and fishing. At the opposite side of the lake was an impressive looking multi-colour landmass jutting out from between the pine trees. We took a look inside the little visitor's centre to find out more and discovered that NZ$26 would buy us a boat trip across the lake to a thermal area with the usual vents and mudpools but also some caves and a chance to walk on the colourful chunk of rock we could see from our side. We've had our fill of thermal areas now to be honest,
Jishcuzzi
That's the last time we give Jish beans! so we hopped back in the car and made our way back along the rollercoaster road. Glynn was most amused on the way back by a small bridge that was only wide enough for one car at a time and which was completely plastered with danger signs, warning all traffic to take extreme caution when approaching. The reason it was so funny was that it was quite a steep road leading down to the bridge and you could see for at least a couple of miles ahead to see if anything was coming!
We had planned on visiting the Volanic Activity Centre on the way back to Taupo if the weather turned bad as the forecast had suggested. However, by mid-afternoon the skies were still clear and dry so instead of holing ourselves up indoors, we decided to stop off at a different thermal park and cafe we saw signposted back on Route 5. The turn off took us onto a badly potholed road for a couple of kilometers until we reached what looked like a mini farm and campsite. There was a pen on one side of the farm with 2 alpacas plus chickens roaming freely around the
Serenity
The rapids before the dam was opened.... grounds. Just outside the cafe building was a handsome peacock and we even spied some baby rabbits hopping about on the grass. We decided again to give the thermal walk a miss but did treat ourselves to a yummy ice-cream milkshake while we took cover from the strong sun. The cafe also sold bags of animal feed for a couple of dollars so we bought one and went over to feed the cute alapacas. Incase you dont know, alapacas are like small llamas or mutant sheep with long legs and necks. No sooner had we started making our way to the enclosure than the two alpacas came galloping over - they could spot a tourist with a bag of food a mile off! We had fun feeding them both though the bigger of the two alapaca was pretty bossy and kept hogging all the food.
Just as we worked out a system for distracting the big álpaca so that we could feed the smaller one, we heard the sound of another pair of galloping feet coming up behind us. When we turned around, we found ourseleves face to face with the biggest, fluffiest sheep I have ever seen in
Here It Comes
...and after! my life! He was just a giant ball of wool with a little head and four legs poking out. He might have had the most gormless expression on his face but he knew where the food was and started gently headbutting Glynn in the hope of a handful of feed. The sheep was obviously savvy to the ways of tourists and was more than happy to eat right out of Glynn's hand. I then had a go too and I have to say it felt really funny. The alpacas kind of scraped the food off my hand with their teeth but the sheep sucked it all up with his lips and it tickled!
It was a wonderfully leisurely day where we got to see some really amazing scenery and experience some of New Zealand's quirkiest attractions. Thank God for hire cars!
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Linda
non-member comment
Where the baby bunnies!
Good to read you're still having fun - What have you been feeding Jish! Such enormous amounts of beans that he felt the need to hypnotise an alpaca so he could get some thing else?