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Published: March 29th 2007
And so our trip down to Taupo was, as we suspected, rainy! We left Rotorua hoping things would clear up, as the bus drivers all say not to judge the weather on what's happening in the morning, but there was no letting up this time.
Still, we made the best of it, our first stop being a trip around the thermal springs/pools of Wai-O-Tapu National Park and the Lady Knox geyser. The various chemicals (unfortunately mostly sulphur based) turn the pools different colours and are quite a sight, although the photos are a little dull because of the bad weather! The hour long walk around the park also let both of us discover the hard way that our raincoats aren't actually waterproof at all anymore! The geyser was okay, but they cheat by putting in soap every morning which speeds the reaction up and away it goes. Apparently it would go off every 24 to 72 hours anyway, but this way they can guarantee a show and pull in the tourists!
We got back on the bus and headed down to the 'Rock 'n' Ropes' park, where you can join in on two cheap but slightly crazy activities
Wai-O-Tapu Park
Thermal Wonderland- a trapeze or a giant swing. Only 3 people on the bus dared do the trapeze, which is basically climbing to the top of a telegraph pole, standing on the top and having to jump to catch a trapeze hanging in front of you. Scary even when just watching! Laura went on the giant swing and had a good time, but was soon suffering from whiplash type effects, along with everyone else who did it!
Due to the bad weather, pretty much all other activities were either off altogether or not worth bothering with. We'd hoped to do the Tongariro Crossing, NZs 'best 1 day walk', which takes you across some good LOTR country among other things but is closed if the weather's bad for safety reasons. We hung around for a couple of days but ended up just drinking a lot of tea all day (and some stronger drinks in the evening with our roomies who'd had the same plans!) in order to pass the time. We'll hopefully pass back through when we head back to Auckland so fingers crossed we can have a go then instead...
So having given in, we left Taupo the following
Wai-O-Tapu Park
Mmmmm, luminous water... morning to head to Wellington. We awoke to blue skies - d'oh! - but the clouds soon came back as we drove across part of the park. We saw 'Mount Doom' from the distance which has inspired further to try and get back there. We had 2 nights in 'Windy Welly' and managed to squeeze in: a rugby game, Wellington Hurricanes vs Bulls (from somewhere in South Africa); a night on the (very trendy) part of town; half of the Te Papa museum (which is huge and we'll finish when we pass back through); and a bit of shopping too.
Next stop, the South Island!
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philip&Shaun
non-member comment
Ohhhhhh..
we're so jealous.! You are doing many of the things we did...and loads we didn't have time for. I guess you'll be able to do an itenerary for our next trip. If you head for the glaciers, a helicopter ride over Franz Josef is a must.