22/12/2017 - #lovetaupo

Welcome to the largest lake in New Zealand - Lake Taupo.
In this city, water plays a significant role. The lake itself was formed approximately 26,500 years ago as a result of a massive eruption.

Yesterday, we visited two attractions on the Waikato River. This river is the only outflow from Lake Taupo, making it have a particularly high water flow. We witnessed the power of water firsthand at our first destination. The Aratiatia Power Station is one of several hydroelectric power stations on the Waikato River. The water is stored for a long period of time and then released multiple times a day, flowing through the riverbed. We calmly observed the dry, rocky valley - you could only imagine how high the water would rise. At 12:00 noon, we reached one of the viewing terraces and witnessed the opening of the floodgates. It took a while for the crystal clear water to make its way through the gorge. But eventually, there was no stopping it, and the masses of water rushed past us. After about 30 minutes, the spectacle was over, the gates were closed, and the water gradually ran down the valley.

Our second destination was more touristy. We visited the famous Huka Falls. It is difficult for us to call it a waterfall. It lies between the power station and Lake Taupo. At this point, the river is compressed from its original width of 100 meters to a width of only 15 meters, making the water appear particularly fast and powerful. At the end of this gorge, the water drops eleven meters. Despite the large amount of water, we couldn't really see a proper waterfall.
A bridge runs right across the canyon, from where the classic photo of the Huka Falls is taken. We have seen quite a few waterfalls by now - we found this natural spectacle to be very impressive, but not particularly beautiful. Maybe our mood was also affected by the many tourists and their selfie sticks - who knows?
But what did entertain us was the so-called "Huka Falls Jet". A small motorboat, loaded with tourists, races along the cliffs and jumps over the waves created right at the waterfall. After 5 minutes of action and spinning around its own axis, the boats disappeared again.
We treated ourselves to a delicious apple slice at the nearby parking lot, and we weren't alone for long. A small group of sparrows was very trusting, and we were able to feed them from our hands after just a few minutes. The animals in New Zealand seem to know that nothing will happen to them. :)

Since yesterday wasn't particularly exciting, let's move on to today. We decided to go on a slightly longer hike. Outside of Taupo is Mount Tauhara. The top of this old volcano is about 1000 meters above sea level. You should plan for about 1.5 hours of pure walking time for the ascent and descent each. Luckily, it was slightly cloudy, so the sun wasn't beating down on us too strongly. The start of the track leads through several cow pastures. The cows showed no aggression, but rather shied away. With the constant goal in sight, we arrived at a forest area. The path itself is not extensively built - although you can navigate through the trail, there were no stair steps. There were passages where we could only progress by holding onto tree trunks. The ground regularly changed from dry to muddy. Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun because our bodies were constantly challenged in diverse ways. After about an hour, we reached a bench and felt like we were almost there. We passed a small stream and, after another 20 minutes and a final, steep climb, reached the summit. Once at the top, we caught our breath and then made our way through a bush area. From a distance, we saw a rocky ledge where other hikers had already taken a seat. The view from the rocks was simply spectacular. We had a view of Lake Taupo, the city, and the surrounding area. Once again, the ascent was more than worth it. Before heading back, we enjoyed the view while eating a delicious... pear. ;) Gotcha?
The sometimes very slippery descent took about 1.5 hours as well, and we safely arrived at the car.

Afterwards, we went to the city center of Taupo. We started at the lakeside and discovered a popular photo opportunity: a large sign with the words "#lovetaupo". When we reached it, a small group of Arabic boys were in the middle of an extensive photo shoot. They danced around the sign to loud party music, and we had fun watching them. No other visitor dared to approach the artwork during this time to take their own picture - just like us.
Then we walked through the shopping streets, visited various souvenir shops, until we arrived at a small American diner. There, we treated ourselves to delicious homemade burgers. After that, we were exhausted. We quickly went shopping for the next few days and spent the evening planning the upcoming holidays.