Taupo: Day One Hundred and Eight - evening (4 February)

We had a reviving cup of tea back at our chalet in Taupo then drove to the lakeside to join our evening cruise on the Ernest Kemp steamboat.

It was a beautiful evening and the scenery was gorgeous. We went to the other side of the lake to see some amazing Maori carvings and passed lots of lovely beaches. (It's a bit funny to think of a beach being on a lake rather than at the seaside).


Barnaby

Taupo: Day One Hundred and Eight - Afternoon (4 February)

We planned to go to a prawn farm next but missed the turning and ended up at the Craters of the Moon instead.

This turned out to be a lucky mistake because they were amazing as you can see from the following link: http://www.cratersofthemoon.co.nz/. What a surreal landscape!

It took us about an hour to walk round the specially constructed pathway (designed to avoid the very hot and slightly poisonous steam), including up the steep path to the lookout.

Barnaby

Taupo: Day One Hundred and Eight - Morning (4 February)

First stop this morning was the impressive Huka Falls on the Waikato River, which drains Lake Taupo. The river narrows just before it reaches the falls forcing the water through at over 200,000 litres per second. That's a lot of very fast moving water; it's like a mini Niagara Falls but in an unspoilt natural setting.

Barnaby

Taupo: Day One Hundred and Seven (3 February)

We went to the 10am service at Napier Cathedral and discovered it was the actual anniversary of the earthquake.

Afterwards we drove to Taupo in the centre of the North Island. Although it is not by the sea, Taupo is on the shores of a big lake (named Lake Taupo) so boats still play a big part in the local's lives. In fact the lake is so big (it is New Zealand's largest), even seaplanes can land on it!

The drive took just over a couple of hours and our Swiss-style chalet had wonderful views of the water. It was on two levels with the lounge upstairs so we could make the most of them.

Barnaby