Lake Taupo

After one of our shortest drives we arrived at Lake Taupo at around lunchtime.  The sun was out so we decided to go for a stroll along the river near our campsite to see the Huka waterfalls.  We spent about an hour walking along the river and resisted diving in until we had completed the walk. The water was crystal clear and very inviting. The waterfalls were impressive and unlike our waterfall experiences in the past - Rach was fine and there were no dramas! On the way back we dived in and swam against the current for about an hour. We then walked a bit further and found a smaller hot river & spring flowing into the main one - it was like a bath!  We spent ages there just chilling in the warm water.  

On Monday we had a lazy morning and went shopping in Taupo - Rach needed a new bikini as she has had a few exposure moments while we've been boarding. After lunch we headed to Turangi, famous for it's trout fishing. We had a packed lunch with us and did a river walk which wasn't that spectacular but still quite nice. Back in Taupo we went back down to the hot river springs to chill out again. It wasn't as hot as the first day but still very relaxing. 

Yesterday we went to the Honey Hive, a place where you can learn about bees and try honey products. We tried various spirits fused with honey which were OK and Mark purchased a bottle of honey beer for later. We were going to do another walk but the weather didn't look to good so we continued our journey in the car and visited a hydro dam and rapids which were pretty impressive. Returning to the town we stopped off at a glass blowing factory where we learnt about glass blowing (the blower was from Sussex). Really interesting and Mark would like to learn!! That afternoon we spent by the pool reading our books and newspaper. We had a early dinner and spent the rest of the night with somelads from Newcastle (we've bumped into them at most of our campsites) watching sport on the TV while drinking a few beers. 

Tomorrow we head for New Plymouth on the West coast where we hope to go walking up Mt Egmont and do some more boarding.

Love to all at home.

Mark & Rach. xxx