Blogs from Taupo, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 4

Čeprav je bilo napovedano oblačno vreme z občasnim dežjem, je bila sreda na koncu zelo sončna, zato sva jo izkoristila za ogled jezera Taupo in brzic reke Waikato, ki se vanj izliva. Proti Taupu sva se odpravila zjutraj, med 2 uri in pol trajajočo vožnjo sva obvozila že znano Rotoruo. Na poti proti Taupu sva opazila številne kraje z geotermalno aktivnostjo in nekatere druge znamenitosti, ob katerih pa se nisva ustavljala, saj naju je bolj zanimal Taupo. Kraj Taupo leži ob istoimenskem jezeru, ki ga polni reka Waikato, najdaljša novozelandska reka. Preden se izlije vanj, prihiti čez brzice in znamenite slapove Huka Falls, ki sva si jih tudi ogledala. Bila sva navdušena nad ogromno količino vode, ki prihrumi čez slap. Do slapov vodi potka iz parka Spa Thermal Park, sprehod do slapov in nazaj traja približno ... read more

Today I say goodbye to Rotorua and catch my bus to Taupo. I almost miss it despite being at the right spot really early. Instead of the green Intercity bus I was expecting it's a white bus with another company's name on the side and just an Intercity sign on a board in the front window. Lucky I checked and red faced Ray welcomes me on board. It's only a one hour ride so I'm very soon settling into my next hostel, the Rainbow lodge. It's a bit more rough and ready than the previous one (linked to the international YHA) but the reception girl is really friendly and helpful even helping me phone to arrange a switch of days for my Tongariro Alpine crossing shuttle - the weather forecast seems better in a couple of ... read more

The last four days in Taupo have been so lovely. Now I'm not saying I'm relieved to be out the campervan, I love the thing BUT.. Words can't describe how nice it has been to relax in one place, spread out in a REAL bed that we don't have to put up ourselves every night and shower without wearing your flip flops. Plus having the amazing hospitality we have received from my aunt and uncle hasn't gone amiss. The weather has absolutely been stunning, 30 degrees and clear blue skies every day.... FINALLY. God love Taupo. On the Friday we went on the Huka Jet on the Waikato river (the longest river in New Zealand) to the famous Huka falls. The jet was a twin engine V6 jet boat, reaching speeds of 80 km/ph dashing by ... read more

We had planned on doing the Taronga pass today but thought the weather would be too bad – but we were wrong – anyway we slept in a bit relatively speaking. Mary loaded us her car and Em and I headed off to have a look around the area. We stopped off at a lookout looking at out at Lake Taupo. The lake is so large we kept thinking we were looking out at the ocean! We then went down to see a Maori village which looked out to Motuopuhi Island and gave a history of the area. As we left the village we were followed by a very friendly duck. I thought the duck was left well behind us then I got whacked by a wing as it flew over my right shoulder to land ... read more

Didn't win the $10,000 hole in one challenge. Was really windy, a swirling wind too, so I didn't even come close to be honest. Went on a sunset booze cruise on Lake Taupo. Really beautiful. There are a ton of really nice homes on the ridge overlooking the lake. Really clear lake too. Could see the bottom at places it was 20 feet deep. Today I did the hike. Was the hardest hike I've ever done in my life, but such an amazing view. The basic walk is a 19km hike which is supposed to take 6-8 hours. You have the option of also climbing the volcano, which is an additional 3 hours. So yeah, I climbed the volcano. It was incredibly steep and the rocks were really loose, so every step you took, you slid ... read more