We woke this morning to rain pounding on the roof. That killed our plans to do a hike this morning. So we got packed up and prepared to leave. We stopped at the dump station and had our first experience dumping the toilet cartridge. It was pretty straight forward, but while I was there I saw people using the same hose to wash out their toilet cartridge and then fill their fresh water tank. That just reinforced our plan to not use the fresh water tank for drinking water. No telling what previous renters had done. We headed for Taupo on the shores of Lake Taupo, the largest fresh water lake in New Zealand. It rained off and on during the drive but the sun came out as we got close to Taupo. We turned off just outside Taupo and went to Huka Falls on the Waikato River. The hike down to the falls is pretty short. The river squeezes through a short narrow canyon to the falls. Huka Falls itself in only 15 feet high, but the amount of water shooting through that canyon and over the falls was incredible. You could feel the power of the water pounding on the rock walls. We then drove over the Craters of the Moon Geothermal Park. We paid the $10NZD entrance fee (much better than $175NZD!) and walked the ¾ of a mile trail through the geothermal features which was mostly steam vents and a few mud pots. The area used to be much more active until they built a geothermal power plant nearby which reduced the pressure build up under the area. It was not particularly impressive when compared to Yellowstone NP. But we had now accomplished 2 of the top 3 things to do on the North Island (Glow Worms and Geothermal Features) leaving a visit to the Hobbit Town when we come back on the cruise ship in a few weeks. After that we found a grocery store in Taupo to pick up a few things. Then filled up with Diesel ($2.10 NZD/Liter). We found out why our Visa card was not working in the gas pumps. Their gas pumps don’t accept international credit cards, but if you go inside they can ring you up with the same card. Go figure! We arrived at the Motutere Bay Top 10 Holiday Park around 4:30 and were assigned a Lake Front site. We pulled in forward so we could sit in our chairs and look out the windshield at the beautiful view of the lake. More rain showers passed through the area off and on and the wind was blowing hard off the lake. After dinner we stepped down to the beach. We noticed rocks on the shore that look odd. We picked a large one up and were surprised by how light it was. These rocks were all over. Leslie threw one out into the lake and it floated! We went back inside and did a little research on the floating rocks of Lake Taupo. The rocks are made out of pumice and are filled with air bubbles that make them light and buoyant. We were tempted to bring one home with us but figured it would be confiscated by US Customs.
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| Huka Falls |
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| Canyon leading to Hula Falls |
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| Entrance Sign |
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| Steam Vents in Craters of the Moon |
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| Steam Vents |
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| Steam Vent |
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| Steam rising around the edge of a sump |
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| Steam Vents with Volcano in the background |
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| Our site at Motutere Bay Top 10 Holiday Park on Taupo Lake |
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| Taupo Lake |
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