Lake Taupo + Wairakei Terraces

Today we drove from Turangi to Napier. Our first stop was of course coffee and breakfast at a cafe in Turangi before driving about an hour to the Taupo area. We were feeling very tired from our hike yesterday so we decided to go for a soak at the Wairakei Terraces & Thermal Health Spa. The water is naturally hot and rich with minerals, which have health benefits. There were three different pools of varying temperatures to soak in. We were glad we arrived early because as we were leaving a large tour group arrived and filled the place! Once we were done with our soak, we drove to Huka Falls which are very large and fed by water from Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. We drove into the town of Taupo for a walk around town and along the lake and found some sorbet. We went with feijoa, passionfruit, and boysenberry - very yummy! We also saw the local McDonald’s which has a plane connected to it… or is inside the plane… we weren’t really sure. Taupo was a very cute town and we both agreed it looked like a fun place to spend a few days. We got in the car and started on the two hour drive east to the coast. Along the drive we saw a venison farm which we hadn’t seen since South Island. It’s weird seeing herds of deer in pastures instead of in the wild. Deer were brought here by the European settlers and took over the island before containment strategies were put into place. For many years they would drop hunters by helicopter and come back to pick them and the venison up. If you’re into hunting, sounds like a fun job! We also saw lots of timber farms along the drive. Once in Napier we checked into our hotel and walked to The Barong Restaurant Indonesia for dinner. We both ordered the Rijsttafel which was a traditional sampler platter and very good! We walked along the water and through the down town area after dinner. Napier experienced a very large earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt in the art deco style so all the buildings are very unique and fun to look at. We were surprised by how quiet it was in the evenings but later learned that most of the tourists come during the day on cruise ships.Read more