Taupo and Tongariro Alpine Crossing

The plan for the day was to do our first sky dive however when we woke up the sky was too cloudy for the skydive to go ahead. In a change of plan for the day we visited the Orakei Korako Geothermal Park which features hot springs, geysers and mud pools. It smelt like rotten eggs it was quite off putting but the sights of the bubbling water and mud was cool.

That afternoon as we walked along the lake front we met a man who did parasailing. Neither of us had done a parasail before but we decided that it would be a good alternative activity to the initially planned skydive. We were fitted with harnesses and life jackets before the boat sailed into Lake Taupo. When we were in open water the instructors set up the parachute and attached our harnesses to the parachute. We glided above the boat and water for about 10 minutes. It was enjoyable watching the scenery while gliding in the wind.

The following day we headed to the Aratiatia Dam to watch the gates open letting hundreds of litres of water cascade down the river rapids below. The gates are opened twice a day and are a tourist attraction due to the magnificent sound the water makes as it flows quickly down the river below. Afterwards we did Jetboating on the Waikato River which was so much fun. We drove to the Huka Falls and got sprayed by the waterfall and then splashed plenty of times as we did 360 turns on the water. It was class and a good way to get the adrenaline going.

The Tongario Alpine Crossing is a weather dependent hike over active volcanos in the middle of New Zealand. As it is nearly Wintertime here, we prepared for the rain and snow but hadn't expected the sunny beautiful day we actually got. We drove to the end point at 5:30 am and got a bus back to the start point just in time for the sunrise. As the sun rose up it lit up the volcano mountain that we would be hiking for the day. The hike up the mountain to the top took three hours, part of the hike was steep while other parts were gradual. However the hike up the mountain didn't actually seem as hard due to the beautiful scenery we could look out at as we got higher up the ridge. At the top of crater there was a lake the colour of emerald green which gave a stunning reflection of its surroundings in the sunlight. The hike down the mountain was long and tiring as the track seemed to go on for ages however we were delighted when we eventually arrived back to the car six hours after starting the hike. We were very lucky with the weather today and I think it made the hike easier as we could appreciate the beautiful surroundings.Read more