Day 5 NZ - 5/1/2011

A great day again today! I woke early today, just before the birds I think.

We headed north to have a look at a few things. First on the list was the Orakei Korako Cave & Thermal Park which was about 20 mins drive. The drive again was spectacular with beautiful scenery all around. We even bumped into a 400 strong mob of sheep. There weren’t many cars in the Thermal Parks carpark and it was going to cost another $72. I also thought it looked a bit second rate and that yesterdays effort was enough. However Mandy was keen so it’s only money. Turns out that I want my money back from yesterdays effort. This was MUCH better – more variety, better viewing, less people, more spectacular – so I’m glad we did it.

 

 We then travelled back to Huka Falls for a look and OMG was it fantastic or what? An amazing amount of water and beautifully clear and colourful. Huka Falls is a natural channel where the water escapes from Lake Taupo and there is LOTS of it. It was a bit mesmerising so we stayed and looked at it for ages. The jet boats come right up to the bottom of the falls in the wash and it looks pretty exciting. I was tempted but eventually resisted the temptation.

Next on the list was the Aratiatia Rapids. It’s a bit further downstream and they open the spillway every couple of hours. Again there is a jest boat ride – more temptation. We stood on the bridge just near the spillway gates and waited. The countdown timer tells you how long you have to wait. The gorge where the water is supposed to flow is very rugged and only about 10 metres across. The siren goes, the gates start to lift, and out comes the water - again LOTS of it. You can see the water level rise and the 2 photos show the before and after. One of the photos is zoomed in a bit but they are at the same point – see the 2 trees at the top of each picture. The water runs for 30 minutes and then the close the gates and it takes about 15 minutes for the water to subside back to the original. Quite breathtaking.

We couldn’t resist another look at Huka falls on the way back and as we were leaving we had a call from Terry after his return from South America. It was good to hear his voice.

Back to Taupo, a drive along the top of the lake to have a squiz, to the supermarket for some supplies and then back to the caravan park. We decided not to cook so we took the easy option of repeating our Noodle order from last night – it was very nice. I’ve had trouble with the internet and I think it’s that we have reached the data limit (although I doubt it). I tried getting onto Telecom NZ but couldn’t so that will be a job to sort out when we see Rob tomorrow.

Another great day and we look forward to going to ‘Mordor’ tomorrow. I don’t know what all the fuss was about and why Freodo and Samwise Gangee took so long to find it. It’s just south of Lake Taupo in the Tongariro NP.