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Published: January 17th 2008
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Huka Falls near Taupo
Huka Falls off the Waikato River DATE VISITED: 2ND-4TH JANUARY
As we approached the Taupo central region of the north island I realised how busy and jammed this base for a few days would prove to be. Luckily our campsite provided some relief from the congestion which was a bit out of town.
Taupo, a town situated by the lake Taupo itself, New Zealand's largest, is an activity hub NOT for the faint hearted. Sky diving, whitewater rafting, lake activities are abound here.
We came here just as a stop off en-route to Tongariro National Park (south of the lake) which would be our next base. Unfortunately the traffic was much worse than expected so we were glad not to be here too long.
In our two days in Taupo we made the best of it by checking out a forest which contained some bike trails. We have seen these advertised everywhere in New Zealand. Rotorua was the best place to do this in Redwood Forest but we ran out of time when we were there... I wanted to know what the graded paths meant (ranged from 2-6) so in the morning we turned up at a hire shop close to another forest
The Waikato River
Further down the river are the rapids where we boarded our Jet boat! - the company waits until 4 pm when the gates open further up and the river rushes through and gains pace very quickly where the level rises quickly over the rocks..This shot was taken shortly afterwards.. and rented them out for a couple of hours. We chose a grade 2 route which contained a few twists and turns but was pretty flat. An unfit blob would have managed and on this basis I suggested we moved onto a 3 which instantly presented us with a few more challenges (more tree roots, sudden steep drops and hair pin bends). Forest biking was definitly different to city cycling - more interesting be it a bit claustrophobic being constantly in the (pine) forest.
Only 15 minutes into the bike ride Ben's chain snapped. After a short discussion I decided to proceed with some unease onto the grade 3 track alone appropriately called 'Cork Screw' as it ended up being quite steep and twisty. . I wasn't comfortable cycling on my own but recognised Ben's point about wasting more money and time with me walking back to the rental shop with neither of us achieving a bike ride.
Stupidly, after Ben was out of shouting distance I realised I had 2 mobile phones in my bag - ringing myself in an emergency wouldn't exactly get me anywhere would it?!! Nor the fact I have a semi used water bottle full of tepid water and no food. Still, I decided to proceed up the steep path and just hoped the sign posts would continue as they did upto the point of separation. To my despair and facing my first of endless junctions there were no sign posts! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was thinking, maybe Redwood Forest, being a more famous biking area wouldn't present such a dilemma to the novice tourist, but still, this area had maps and leaflets on all the tracks, and up to leaving Ben we saw plenty of signs. I realised with an accompanying sigh that I would just have to pick a direction - neither looked more appealing or 'correct' so I carried on in vein at the remaining (signless)! junctions. I should have turned back but I was afraid of getting more lost - little realising continuing would get me more disorientated... The piece of paper I had called a 'map' might as well have been thrown away, but even this proved useless over such a windy and complicated network of paths. It wasn't before long that I realised I was totally alone and lost in a massive pine forest. I finally arrived at a more level path which I guessed was a grade 2 - but even then it could have been anything! anywhere! I just hoped if I stayed on it long enough I would see some signs, but this hope soon died... To add to my current anxiety as I cycled through the vast forest I heard a thud on the floor - to my horror I looked down and saw that it was my left pedal. 'GREAT'! I whispered. I picked up a random pine cone and attempted to batter it into the holding. I continued to pedal slowly only for it to unwind off the cog again. Hopeless! Lost, alone and now only with my legs to get me home - typical I thought! Within seconds of the incident a biker just turned up out of thin air behind me. I could have hugged him out of sheer relief! How a stranger could brighten my spirit up so much! He soon dismounted and tried to assist me getting the pedal back on. He couldn't help but told me he would wait for me at any of the future intersections after I told him I was totally lost! Within 10 minutes of me walking lethargically on he cycled back and told me to turn right at the next junction. This lead me to a road but might as well have been a road to nowhere. NOW what?!!! Not knowing whether to turn right or left I crossed over to the next forest as a sign lead me to think it was a grade 2 path which would return me to the rental shop. WRONG.
Within seconds (thank god) of entering the forest 2 women stopped by and told me to go down the road warning me if I continued Id be even deeper in the forest. The relief of bumping into them stayed with me right until I got back to the shop where I proceeded to give the hire bloke a good bollocking. I was probably lost for only an hour but it felt a lot longer - I wont forget that one in a hurry.
After a chilled picnic after the morning stress! we decided to check out a rapidsJet experience. Nothing like a thrill to distract your brain an un-nerving time..
http://www.rapidsjet.com/ - This was really fun! The boat just skimmed over the top of the river missing the underlying rocks by inches. It bombed down the river at over 100 k/p/h swerving around tree branches, taking off over rapids and spinning around at 180 degrees spraying us all in cool water! 40 minutes of thrill left us wet but refreshed! We combined this side trip with a look at the Huka Falls off New Zealand's longest River the Waikato. There was a jet company that took you upto these but the rapidJet company seemed more fun and exciting. The speed wasn't a dissapointment but the rapids seemed tame in comparison...
Taupo was the place to do the rapids but not the biking! Taupo was also the place to make a couple of important decisions: a) Do I do the sky dive here (advertised at its cheapest here) or elswhere in New Zealand (be it more expensive but more spectacular!)
and b) Have a go at Parasailing - both of these we saw in action here and proved to be very tempting - especially the parasailing over the lake. In the end we ran out of time but watch this space!
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