Lake Taupo and its (volcanic) region

First stop on the North Island was directly the largest lake in the same: Lake Taupo. Just the way there.. along the wonderful calm clear lake to the town of Taupo, a delight! Arriving there early in the morning, we had breakfast overlooking the lake and afterwards we sat by the lake with a coffee and watched the Hole-in-One Golf Challenge. The challenge was to hit the golf ball from land into one of the three holes on the island about 100m away. Flo analyzed diligently but didn't dare to play...irrational and all. But some participants did quite well, according to Flo's assessment. ⛳️🏌🏼‍♂️ ;-)

Anyway.. we then continued to the Huka Falls. Flo loves waterfalls and he really enjoyed this one. Not very high, but tons of water (about 200,000 liters per second) flowing through a narrow passage and then falling a few meters. Absolutely amazing to watch.. unfortunately dozens of others thought the same. But that's how it is with tourist attractions.. according to the tourists. 😉

After that, we went on to Waiotapu, where we visited thermal springs and stuff.. hot springs where the water comes out of the ground at temperatures up to 100 degrees (volcanic area and all).. short summary: expensive admission, only partially beautiful/exciting/interesting/impressive, crowded, and it smelled disgusting. The neon green-yellow lake was somehow the coolest, otherwise not so amazing. Due to the smell, Nadia ran the last 500m from the site. 🏃‍♀️

Even Rotorua, where we stopped on the way to Matamata, didn't convince us. Not a very beautiful lake where you couldn't even swim..

Matamata was a real highlight!