Taupo is New Zealand’s largest lake, situated right in the center of North Island.  It’s located in a dormant volcano.  We had passed this way on our first trip in 2011 and I regretting not visiting Aratiatia Rapids at water’s release.  

There are platforms overlooking a rocky gorge, then a loud blast sounds giving you a warning that the gates are opening.  The water is released and the gorge fills up over the course of 20 minutes.  Then the gates close, and the gorge runs dry again.

We also did the Maori Carvings sail tour. The sail is a lot of bang for your buck, some offered as low as $29 for a 3-hour tour. It was very relaxing and our captain was very entertaining. We booked too late for the $29 bargain tour and sailed on their competitor for $44. But our boat was much less crowded with about a dozen passengers on board. I thought it was a win.

The water is very clear and there is a story for each portion of the carvings.  They are not ancient by any definition.  They were carved in the 1960’s.  But it was a nice sail and beautiful cove.  We saw some ducklings right next to our boat.

We overnighted in Turangi for 2 nights and not everything turned out as planned.  The saving grace was our motel, Creel Lodge, was probably the nicest motel I’ve ever stayed in (tropical grounds, really nice BBQ area, loft ceiling and skylights).

Our plan was to do 2 out of 3 activities. I had booked a Scenic flight but it was canceled due to weather.  There was a cave nearby I thought we could explore, but the road to it had deteriorated so badly, it was 4WD only.  There was a kayaking place in town but when I phoned them, a recording informed me that they operate on weekends only. The website didn’t indicate this.  So we had another day to fill with our “B” choices.

First we did the free thermal walk at Tokaanu Thermal Pools.  It is only a 20-minute walk and passes by boiling mud pools, steaming ponds, and the like.

Then we hiked the Tongariro River Walk Loop and geocached.

Between Turangi and our next overnight at Ohakune, is Tongariro National Park.That morning, we contacted our pilot to see if skies were clear enough for a flight.  There were patches of clouds, but he thought we’d get good views of Mount Ruapehu on an abbreviated tour.  And right he was!  I’m really glad we got to do this.  I hadn’t realized there was a lake at the top of the mountain!  Mounts Tongariro and Ngauruhoe were clouded in, but I have no regrets.

We drove the short distance to Whakapapa Village and parked at the trailhead for Taranaki Falls Loop Walk. It was very worthwhile and had a variety of landscapes. It’s mostly level walking. The falls were very photogenic.

We also walked to Tawhai Falls. It was less impressive, but far less walking.

We drove the rest of the way up the mountain and did the scenic summer chairlift at the end of Bruce Road to Knoll Ridge Cafe. I was wearing shorts and a light jacket and it was freezing at the top of the lift.   Knoll Ridge had fantastic views and is architecturally beautiful itself.

When we returned to the bottom of the chairlift, I remembered there was a location nearby that was part of the Lord of the Ring’s movies.  It was known as Mead’s Wall.  Fred didn’t really recognize it from the movie and I thought it was underwhelming.  But there were some beautiful flowers on the track.

We got to Ohakune.  It’s a town that bustles during the ski season and has hundreds of rental homes.  But it’s overlooked and pretty much forgotten in the off season.  I thought the town was really charming.  Being off-season, got a bargain in a self-catering chalet.  I’m glad I planned for 3 nights there. Our 2 full days were spent by bike riding Old Coach Rd / visiting the two waterfalls up Mountain Rd and doing a full day trip of jetboating – Bridge to Nowhere – canoeing the Whanganui River.

I’m not too far from turning 60. Mountain biking isn’t a common pastime of mine. Come to think of it, I’ve never mountain biked!  I dealt with the uphills fine. What I wasn’t prepared for was the rough and rocky tracks and the portions that were downhill, narrow, and had hairpin turns. Still, I had a great time.  It followed an old, long forgotten, coach road that transported people and goods from one train station to another, before they figured out how to connect the two routes by rail.  There was a tressel we got to cross that was hundreds of feet above the canyon below.  And a tunnel to explore.  It made for a good half-day outing.  Leaving the other half day to drive up the mountain and do some waterfall walks.

The first walk was to Waitonga Falls.  It was about 45 minutes each way and went through some varied landscapes.  There were boardwalks across the tarns at the top, views of the valley, interesting pools of water that I’m sure are influenced by geo-volcanic activity, a lot of steps down to the creek, and finally a view of the waterfall.  The waterfall was quite a distance away and the view of it was not as impressive as others we have seen, but the walk made up for it.

Next was the Mangowhero Falls.  In contrast, this was about a 5-minute walk through the bush to a viewing platform.

Un-retouched photo of sludgepool along Waitonga Falls walk  –>>

The next day, I had signed us up for a trip on the Whanganui River to the Bridge to Nowhere.  Starting from a volcanic plateau, it was a 40-minute drive down a narrow winding road to the river.  The jungle was as thick as I’ve ever seen, we really were in some untamed country.

A jetboat took us up the river to a landing and we walked about 25 minutes to the Bridge to Nowhere.  We were told the stories of the early settlers who ranched this area and were promised a road.  They got a bridge, but never got the road, and so it was abandoned.  We had lunch here and looked about.

Our adventure included 2 hours of canoeing. I’m glad it wasn’t any more than that.  The river is one of the “Great Walks” of New Zealand and people canoe for 3 or 4 days on it.  Even though it was all downstream, the paddling was tiring.  But we have bragging rights in that we survived the rapids of 50/50 with one other couple. The 3 others behind us capsized.

The Adventure Continues>>>

If you’ve read this far, be sure to watch the video.  It was taken on the drive down to the Whanganui River.  Stay with it until the last 30 seconds and see what happens!

<<–Taupo

Black Swans, Taupo–>>

<-Maori Carvings->

<<View of Whakapapa Village from plane

Near Chairlift–>>

<<–View from Waitonga Falls Track

“Big Carrott” at Ohakune–>>

Although we did not photograph this, we were coming back from our Whanganui River trip and crested the hill as we returned to Ohakune.  The hills were brilliant green, with many sheep, and Mount Taranaki could be seen in the distance.  I asked Fred to pull over so I could take a picture, but there was no place to pull off.  The road was narrow and winding, so stopping in the middle wasn’t an option.   I found a Google streetview of the location I saw the scene.  It isn’t the brilliant green, and it doesn’t have sheep, but still pretty nonetheless.  See below:

The Adventure Continues>>>