Taupo to Whakatane!

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Luckily we did not go overboard after the skydive in the same way as after the bungy! Anywaywe were up as usual, fed and checked out by 10am. From Taupo we drove 7km south the base of Mount Tauhara. From then on, the next few hours were spent scrambling and traversing up the mountain, across fields and through woodland. The sweaty walk was worth it in the end as we ended up with some fantastic views of Lake Taupo and the surrounding town.

The walk down was far easier than the way up however, Marks all-terrain flip flops bit the dust and part of the walk was completed in bare feet. Once we reached the car, we cooked lunch and then hit the road. We had to drive back through Taupo since we were heading north but on the way we came across a mini-golf. Needless to say, we pulled over and enjoyed an invigorating 18 holes! Eventually, we got moving and headed the 100km towards Rotorua. The main attraction there was mud baths and hot sulphur springs. However, we were not in the mood for wallowing in mud and couldn't be bothered with enduring the constant smell of sulphur so we pressed on.

When we arrived in Whakatane, we checked into a very cheap hotel, cooked dinner and made it downstairs to the pub below for the evening quiz. We discovered that the quiz was clearly aimed at Kiwis but battled on in vain. In the end we finished a respectable second last and were all very proud of our efforts - even if we had cheated on a couple of questions!

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Photos

Lake Taupo
view from our hostel

Taupo
View from Mount Tauhara