Taupo

After our magnificent lunch in Hamilton, we got on the bus to Taupo. A volcanic hot spot (not in the technical sense dear geographers) in the center of the northern island. It welcomed us with a dribble of rain and a perfect double rainbow. We knew we were in for a treat here...

Our first full day here (Saturday) we spent hiking to the local Huka falls and then further to the "Craters of the Moon" a local field with volcanic activity such as boiling mud pools, active steam vents and obviously some craters. As this was our first encounter with volcano stuff here in New Zealand we were pretty amazed, but we were told pretty quickly that this is nothing compared to what we will experience in Rotorua. Geological fun fact: this field only became active after the worlds first geothermal power plant was built just a few kilometres away, the construction of which caused geological shifts on the local scale.

Sunday we pretty much did nothing during the day to prepare for what was still to come...however, we were invited to Jen's absolutely fabulous birthday BBQ. Jen and Alex were also in Taupo to join us on our trip on Monday.Read more