Thursday – Lake Taupo

Our day started at 9:00 a.m. with a fishing trip scheduled 30 minutes prior. We wanted to take the kids fishing but had neglected to pre-book anything. We were getting worried after our second call had no availability and some fisherman wouldn’t take kids under 10. Luckily, we were referred to Gus Te Moana by one of the fisherman and we were so grateful to meet him. He offered to take our whole family out in his boat and let us fish for some trout. We came to find out that Gus is the only Maori in the entire Lake Taupo region to own his own charter. He not only was kind and friendly but also gave us a tour of some local Maori landmarks within the lake. I don’t have enough kind words to say about Gus. You can book a charter here http://www.temoanatroutfishingtaupo.co.nz. I did bag a single trout which weighed in at about 20 lbs or so….well maybe it was 10 lbs. In either event, 4 people dined on taht fish and it was very filling.

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After our fishing expedition, we made a quick stop at Artiatia Dam – what’s so special about a dam? Every 4 hours, the floodgates are opened and millions of gallons of water pour down to the riverbed below. The whole process was fascinating and thrilling and the surrounding enviornment was inspiring.

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After the Dam, we went to check out Huka Waterfall. This particular waterfall was amazing not for it’s height but for the volume of water that passes through such a narrow rocky channel. Of course, words won’t do it justice but photos should do the trick; unfortunately computing access is limited and the photos I take are rather large so it’s been burdensome to upload some photos. I hope to have better luck in Wellington.

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After the Huka waterfall, we headed out to The Craters of the Moon – this is a valley composed of hydrothermal vents which vent steam throughout the day (and night). The landscape appears what I would imagine the moon to look like. There are large craters everywhere and the ground is rather unstable. It is truly an alien landscape with steam stacks floating into the air in an eerie dance between the hell below and the serenity of the heaven above.

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Our next stop was a quick tour of the Honey Hive. This place has the most amazing mix of honeys I’ve ever tasted. Different bees, different honeys, different tastes! We purchased a set of honey for the return trip along with some unusual products which we’ll hand out as gifts (hopefully 😉 ).

After our long day, we took advantage of the resort anemities and while Marge went in for a massage, I took the kids over the the private jacuzzis where we had a blast talking about the events of the day and our plans for the future.

Our day ended with Marge’s excellent cooking wizardry. With limited spices, the chef extraordinaire whipped up the most delectable trout (drowned in butter) and was accompanied by the most pretentious Savignon Blanc from New Zealand’s Villa Maria vintage 2005!