From the Mountains to the Sky Act 16: Getting into Hot Water in Taupo

On Friday, we spent the day in Taupo and the surrounding area. Lake Taupo, the centerpiece of the region, is the caldera of a volcano that erupted about 2000 years ago. It is fed by 20 different rivers and streams and drains through one river, the Waikato. The city of Taupo is located where the Waikato R leaves the lake. From Taupo, one can view the triple peaks of the Tongariro National Park one of which, Mt. Ngauruhoe starred in a recent film as Mt. Doom. There is a hike that passes through this park which unfortunately we did not have time to do. Here is a view of the Tongariro peaks over the city of Taupo.


Friday morning, we woke up and set out for our first destination, Huka Falls, a waterfall on the Waikato River just outside of Taupo. It was nice, but nothing too special as waterfalls go. From there, we headed to NZ River Jet for a ride in a Hamilton Jet Boat. The Hamilton Jet is essentially a very large Seadoo, which is capable or running in very shallow water and doesn't get tangled in weeds and such. Also, it is able to do some fun stunts like 360s and running over the shore for brief periods. The River Jet tour consisted of three parts. First a slow cruise up the Waikato River with stops along the way to explain the local flora, fauna, and history. This is a very beautiful area that reminded me a lot of the Grand River in Waterloo.

After the sedate boat cruise, we arrived at Orakei Korako, one of many thermal areas in the region. We spent about 1.5 hours there, wandering through the steaming vents, mud pools, hot springs and silica terraces of the park. It was pretty nice but similar areas at Yellowstone National Park are much more spectacular. There were also a couple geysers in the park but we were not lucky enough to see them go off. The highlight of the park for me was learning about the significance of geothermal power to historical Maori people. They used geothermal vents to provide central heating for their houses and to cook their food. This made Orakei Korako a much fought over territory.

The final leg of the trip was a speedy and daring ride back down the river to where we began. Our guide, Adam, put the Hamilton jet through its paces, pulling off a number of 360 spins and jetting through the shallows of the Waikato. It was quite a bit of fun.

Following the jet boat tour, we went to the Aratiatia Rapids for lunch and to watch the release of water from the dam. The Waikato is an entirely controlled river that is used to generate 65% of the North Island's electricity needs through a series of 8 hydro plants and dams. The Aratiatia dam is the first of these. Twice a day, water is released from the dam and you can view the rapids as they were before human intervention happened. The transformation from this:

to this in a few short minutes was quite remarkable.

Our final stop in Taupo was a swim in a thermal stream, pretty much a natural hot tub. I'm not a big fan of hot tubs usually but I did enjoy this thoroughly. The natural environment with little waterfalls really set a nice tone and it was great fun to jump back and forth between the main Waikato River (10 degrees) and the stream. Also, it was fun to climb up the waterfalls and explore the interesting ways in which the hot and cold water interact at the junction of the stream and the river.


After another event-filled day, we drove to Rotorua and checked into our hostel there. Here, we met a young British couple who had been traveling since April, starting in Thailand and making their way through many nations to New Zealand. It was nice to just relax and chat with them for a while before heading to bed to prepare for the next day.