In the morning, we started a jet boat tour on the Waikato River, the longest river in New Zealand.
During the tour, we saw a hydroelectric power plant and the filming locations of some movies (e.g. the rapids through which the barrels swam in the second Hobbit film).
We sped up to 85 km/h over the water and made turns, and it was good that we had raincoats.
At noon, we watched the opening of the lock gates at the hydroelectric power plant.
before
Within minutes, the water level rose significantly, and a gentle stream turned into a strong current. That's why there were warning signs everywhere - not that we would have thought about swimming...
after
At the Waikato River, near Taupo, we took a walk. There was a hot spring by the river, where many people lay in the warm water.
Also by the river, there was a bungee jumping spot. We watched two jumps and even met one of the brave ones as he climbed back up from the water.
We walked along a mountain biking trail on the riverbank, which was partially rugged, and eventually reached the port of Taupo.
There, we bought tickets for the evening "Cocktail Cruise", where there were no cocktails but wine and pizza instead.
The ship sailed across Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, which was formed by a volcanic eruption. We reached the famous forty-year-old Maori carvings, which can only be seen from the water.
The next morning, we first went to a viewpoint to see the Huka Falls.
Huka Falls
We then continued to the thermal areas of the region. First, we visited the "Craters of the Moon".
We would have expected the area to be more barren based on the name, but there were some plants that were adapted to the heat and toxic gases and grew there.
Sulfur steam rose from many holes in the ground, and there were some larger craters to see.
We had our lunch break at a viewpoint where we could see a geothermal power plant. It's quite convenient when the hot steam for energy conversion just comes out of the earth - although living on a volcano has its drawbacks...
One of the most beautiful landscapes was the Orakei Korako Thermal Park, which we visited last.
To get there, we had to take a boat from the visitor center to the other side of the lake to start the tour.
There were also geysers, but unfortunately, they didn't show themselves when we were there. The many shades of color in the rocks under the vapors were very impressive, though.
A boardwalk led throughout the whole area, and it was advisable not to stray from it. The volcanic rock is quite porous, and sinking at the temperatures in the ground would not be pleasant.
It's also better to avoid bathing in the mud pools, even though they are used elsewhere for cosmetic treatments.
