New Zealand Day 4: Lake Taupo, Craters of the Moon, Waikato River, Huka Falls, and back to Auckland

---

My driver was to pick me up at 10:00 today, so I woke up around 8:00 am showered and pack up my things. I left my luggage in the lobby as I walked the ten minutes into town to find some breakfast. It was 9:30 I hustled and took it to go, only to have the driver be 20 minutes late. He had gotten stuck behind a wreck, but when he did arrive he apologized helped me with my bag and we were off. Mark owns the company Shuttle2U and he hosts a little three hour tour that you can take for a small fee, it was well worth it. Since it was just me I was able to have a conversation versus just being talked to, pretty nice deal. He told me about the size of the lake, how it is he size of Singapore, and if the active volcano that it is over ever erupts, even a cough, it will wipe out the entire north island of New Zealand. Wow! Had my attention. When it erupted 2000 years ago it was documented by the Chinese that it had blocked the sun for three weeks. It is 150 years overdue and become more and more active every day. You can see bubbles coming up along the fault line running through the lake. The lake is beautiful, they call it the jewel of the island, it is easy to see why.



We made our way around the lake and I heard the history of the region which was quite interesting. Mark told me about the geothermal power produced and how it came about in the 1950’s, before that he said there was nothing there but desert. It was hard to believe with all of the green around, but then he told me that the government flew planes filled with grass seed imported that could grow in the sand. They planted pine trees from the US and new industries were born. The same tree that takes 50-70 years to grow in the States grows to maturity there in 25 years. The growth rate is so quick that they will actually clear cut forests and a new one will be growing before any erosion happens. My first stop was the Craters of the Moon park. This place is like a foreign land. I had the park to myself for about the first 20 minutes which was nice and I was just kind of wandering around, steam rising up all around me. Beautiful colored rock formations. Mountains rising up in the background. It was all very surreal. I made my way around the boardwalk to the different craters that have all had several eruptions as recently as 2002. My favorite was the large mud crater which you could actually see mud and pumice erupting up from the muck.





Our next stop was Waikato River, a falls of sorts. There is a hydroelectric plant that dammed the river running off from Taupo. The government makes the plant release water three times a day from the dam, no power generated, it is purely for pleasure. White water rafting, jet boats and just us onlookers. It is pretty spectacular to watch the “bubble” of water move down the river. The water is incredibly pure and blue and super aerated the bubbles reflecting the light and appearing very sapphire blue.



Mark pulled up to a little place called The Huka Honey Hive, there was a sign that said “More than you expect.” Good, because I had low expectations. I never would have stopped there if I was on my own, but I have to say it was kind of cool. If I didn’t stick to a strict carry-on only packing regiment I definitely would have taken home some honey. They made it right there onsite, there was even a function hive, enclosed safely behind glass, right inside of the store. I opted for the ice cream that they are famous for. New Zealand has their own flavor called Hokey Pokey, which is a soft fluffy toffee that they crush up and swirl in vanilla. When I ordered it the girl told me that it is the best hokey pokey I would ever have. I didn’t tell her that it was my first and probably only, so she was most certainly correct. I made my way outside and watched a girl do a big bungy type swing thing before I jumped back on the shuttle that took me to Huka Falls.



Huka Falls was pretty incredible, much like the place where they open the flood gates and you can watch the water come out, but this is just fed by a river so it runs continuously. Same beautiful water, but more rapids so much of it is just a white froth. Mark said that it is a class six rapid. I really want to do it now. I have only done five, and they looked way more violent than that. Maybe it was the pretty color. Going of the falls is enough water to fill three Olympic size swimming pools every second. That is power. After a quick walk up and down the park it was time to head out to the bus station. I have to catch a bus back to Auckland this afternoon, I have a flight to catch in the morning. It all goes too fast.



Back in Auckland I grabbed my bad and made the half mile hike to my hotel, Kiwi International again. I stopped off for some Indian takeout on the way and ate in the lobby after checking in. From there the rest of my night was pretty boring. I spent it in just looking at pictures and writing. Once I got to my room I arranged my bag so that it wouldn’t be so awful getting up at 3:30 am to figure it all out.

---

Photos

Waikato River
Just before the flood gates were opened