We left Tongariro early as we had a long journey but as the weather had improved we thought that we would revisit Whakapapa to see what we had missed the day before. This time we were able to see the trio of volcanoes that yesterday were hidden in the mist. We were lucky and couldn't believe how close we had been to them.
Thus we were able to set off on our journey north. The roads were superb, long, straight and passing through massive pine forests. Coffee stop today was at Lake Taupo where we sat by the side of the lake watching the joggers, runners, sailors and the sea plane which landed on the opposite side of the lake. We stopped at Huka Falls, which are fed by the Waikato River, for lunch. As the water is slammed into the narrow chasm the force generated is used to supply a great deal of NZ power, both total and hydro power. The flow is increased between 8.00 am and 8.00 pm to meet the high electricity demand. The water was crystal clear and the most amazing turquoise. During our picnic today we were talking to a lady who had walked with her husband from Taupo but had decided that it was too much to walk back so had sent her husband back to get the car and return for her complete with picnic. Must be Valentine's Day!!
As we neared Rotorua we could see the evidence of thermal pools in the form of steam in the undergrowth and the distant smell of sulphur.
You've arrived in territory that's now familiar to me. Spent a weekend at Lake Taupo, when the McNamara's did a road cycle race, and we also visited Huka falls and some Rotorua geo-thermal sites. All very fantastic, as I'm sure you'll agree. I'm living every step of your journey with you - What lovely memories!
ReplyDeleteJust hope your weather was better than ours. Off to Whitianga tomorrow hoping for some sun.
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