And so to Lake Taupo

25th February 2009

Yet another sunny and warm start to the day and we said farewell to Kate & Roger before the start of the next leg in our journey further north. Before we headed to Lake Taupo we made a diversion to Cape Kidnappers, a crescent-shaped bay and jagged promontory 19 miles south of Napier.

We took a walk along the bay and admired the view across to Hawke’s Bay and the lovely calm waters of the Pacific Ocean. Along the pebbled-beach we saw lots of empty mussel shells and, after a while we also saw seagulls and black-backed gulls coming in from the sea with mussels and dropping them on the rocks and pebbles in order to break open the shells and then feasting on the mussels! We also saw a chick being fed by it’s mother/father??, with a star-fish! We managed to get a close-up photo of the (now dead), star-fish much to the annoyance of the chick who was waiting to peck at it!!!

The journey from Napier to Lake Taupo was long and not particularly interesting although, the changing scenery, climbing up through forests and continuing on to Lake Taupo along the summit plateau was pleasing on the eye.

On arrival in the town of Taupo, (which lies at the north eastern end of Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest lake, formed by a volcanic explosion in AD186), we set out (as usual!), for the tourist information office where we obtained a local and town map of the area. We sat by the lake for a while enjoying the late afternoon sunshine and the beauty of this huge lake!

White pumice beaches and rocky coves surround the lake which covers 239 sq miles. As it was a clear day we could see the distant volcanic peaks of Mounts Tongariro and Ngauruoe and the snow-capped Ruapehu which provided a spectacular backdrop to the lake.

On our way to our B&B we diverted to investigate a sign pointing to “Craters of the Moon” We walked past a little kiosk after paying our money and after a short walk through a bit of native bush we came out on the side of a hill looking down over a vista of vegetation with steam rising from the ground and big craters. It really was like something from an episode of Star Trek. We had to keep to marked paths as the ground either side was an extremely fragile thermal environment. Before the track system was put in, it was not uncommon for visitors to stray onto soft hot ground, resulting in burns to feet and legs!

We could hear steam hissing and gurgling in the ground, and in one area you could feel the earth vibrating under our feet. There are many Maori villages built around areas like these. They cook on the hot rocks and heat their homes and use the hot water. The whole area looked very pre-historic, with giant ferns as tall as trees. We wouldn’t have been surprised to see a dinosaur grazing on the branches.