Huka Falls and the Waiotapu Thermal Park
2012-01-19
Taupo is in the middle of New Zealand and also near all the geo thermal active area. I guess it is sort of a tourist destination... If you are more daring then myself you could sky dive [we saw jumpers landing] or if you are a little more tame you can go to Puzzle World [i was tempted by the huge maze].
We got up first thing and headed to Huka Falls. Not known for their height these falls look like raging rapids rushing down a stone channel. They were beautiful and refreshing to look at. I'm not sure if the pictures capture the beauty of them.
Then off to Rotorua, an hour drive from Taupo, is a bigger city and was going to be where we stayed the next night but we opted for a second night at the beautiful Hilton in Taupo. The city was somewhat of a dud town for us. We thought it was going to be a little more exciting but all we got out of it was use of the Polynesian Spa. But I'm not complaining. The spa had an adults only side which made it incredibly relaxing. Instead of a huge thermal lagoons like in Iceland, these were more traditional pools.
After we tired of that, we high tailed it out of the town and over to the Waiotapu thermal area. Not to bring up Iceland again, but this thermal area may have been better... Iceland is more spread out in little pockets, this was a 1.5 hour hike all around an entire network of hot pools, craters and steaming earth. Near the top there is a huge lake splotched with color which runs down limestone in a beautiful pattern to different pools and steaming hot waterfalls. Sometimes the water is clear, sometimes muddy. At the end of the walk you end up at a steamy waterfall where the water finishes up in a beautiful turquoise lake.
One thing that Iceland has over New Zealand are the geysers. New Zealand has a few but Iceland's were magnificent. We were going to see the one at the Waiotapu thermal park which "erupts" daily at 10:15 but after some research we found out that it is a bit of a sham and they add detergent causing the geyser to erupt. So we skipped that!
After the long day of hiking we were ready to head back to our hotel, get some dinner and call it a night.
Hotel
Hilton Taupo
This hotel seems to be a vacation property where you can get full on suites or groups of rooms that are all connected. The rooms were huge with beautiful views of Lake Taupo.
Restaurant
Steak & Ale Bar
My first taste of New Zealand Lamb. The presentation was good and so was the meal. They love to give you a dollup of butter... not sure why though!
Nando's
The service person didn't know what it meant when Brad asked: Can I have a breast in with the quarter chicken dinner. They were confused... we thought chicken was their specialty!
Dixie Brown's
Brad ordered the pizza... it was huge! I ordered the open faced burger. I cut the calories but not eating the top half of the bun. Perfect!
Sights
The Polynesian Spa
These hot spring spas are located in Rotorua. They were so relaxing and nice. The first half hour was spent in the private spa then we moved to the full adult pools.
