Wairakei

From Rotorua through Taupo to Napier, takes about 3 hours. We said a temporary goodbye to Donna, filled up our tank with gas (good idea) and started driving through flat pastures with cattle on Hwy 1. Soon, the land became rolling and then we were into the mountains, on winding roads. We stopped at one viewpoint and saw a beautiful waterfall.

Our lunch-time destination was in Taupo on Lake Taupo, the great inland sea of New Zealand. I had read that as you “travel around the lake, you will find every landscape you can imagine. Snow-blanketed winter ski fields and alpine deserts. Ancient forests alive with birdsong. Trout-filled rivers and the thundering Huka Falls. Steaming geothermal valleys with rejuvenating hot springs. Three towering volcanoes in the awesome and otherworldly landscape of Tongariro National Park.” Sounded like a cool place and it was.

But before having lunch, it had been recommended by several people that we try to see the opening of the dam at Aratiatia Rapids and then make a stop at Huka Falls.

Sometimes plans work out beautifully and today was one of those days.

We got to the rapids and the dam was opened. Wow! Thousands of litres of water are released from the Aratiatia Dam creating a spectacular flow of water through a narrow gorge. The surging rapids have been harnessed to produce environmentally sustainable hydroelectric power.

What we learned from a Dutch tourist is that some of the most memorable scenes from Peter Jackson's movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, are when the dwarves are escaping from the captivity of the Elves by hiding in barrels which were thrown downstream. Filming was done at two locations, one of them being at the Aratiatia Rapids on the Waikato River.

Aratiatia Rapids were an ideal setting for the scene because the spillway turned the otherwise dry gorge into a fast flowing waterfall.

The film crew dropped 20 to 25 barrels down the rapids every time there was a dam release. They worked with a local river company to safely release and retrieve the barrels. The Hobbit crew spent two days shooting the scene.

The Dutch tourists also recommended a 1 1/2 boat tour to the Huka Falls but that boat had already left so we drove to a short trail that led to the falls.

The Waikato River, New Zealand's longest river, flows north from Lake Taupo between banks 100 metres apart. Just before the Huka Falls it enters a shallow ravine of hard volcanic rock. The river that had flowed gently now roars at great speed along the ravine before bursting out over Huka Falls. The water at the base of the 11 m falls is a beautiful aqua colour but very turbulent.

We walked over a small footbridge at the top of the falls which put us pretty closeup close to the powerful display of water blasting by. The boat would have taken us right to the edge of the falls. I think that that would have been pretty exciting!

We drove on to a very good Italian lunch in pretty Taupo and then ended our day by driving for another hour to our Air Bnb in Taradale near Napier.

And talk about a small world ... I spent 5 years of high school with our Air BnB hostess’ sister in Mississauga!!!!!! Nancy Otley!!!Read more