After Hobbiton we continued our drive to Taupo, the main town on the Northern edge of Lake Taupo, the enormous inland freshwater lake formed 26,500 years ago by a gigantic seismic explosion. Our accomodation is right by the edge of the lake. We had previously arranged to meet up with someone David worked with many years ago and who was, coincidently, on holiday in the area with his wife and their NZ friends.We had a great evening, eating at a highly acclaimed local restaurant.
Next day we visited a local attraction, 'Craters of the Moon' which is an area of geothermal activity. There are many such areas around this part of NZ where the earth's crust is thin enough to allow high pressured steam to emanate from the ground.
Sunday 8/2 visited Orakei Koraki, a site of intense geothermal activity some 30km from Taupo. See photos for more details! It's a really hot day so returned to Taupo after a quick drive down the the Eastern side of the lake ( which is beautiful) and I even managed a quick dip in Lake Taupo to cool off.