January 5th 2012 Lake Taupo

We left our accommodation at 10.15am & drove up to to chair lift that takes skiers/walkers up to the top of the mountains from the village of Iwikau(really just a collection of chalets for the skiers in winter and walkers in summer). The scenery changed dramatically within a few kms from bush/forest to black rock lava fields. On close examination it was amazing to see the diversity of alpine plants growing on this seemingly infertile rock. We took photos of several varieties. The views from up there were stunning too. We were v close to the snow capped mountains yet looking in the other direction we could see over bush to gentler rolling hills about 30 - 40km away. This area is a World Heritage Site on TWO counts - -nature and culture. It's a very important site for the Maoris.

After that we stopped at the Tourist Information Centre & watched two videos. One was related to Maori beliefs & how North Island was formed & how the volcanoes of Tongeriro National Park were formed. The other was about volcanoes, how they are formed & the different types of eruption & their consequences.

Then we drove to Taupo. Our accommodation is on quite a large complex but it is well divided up & sits within lovely garden grounds with huge trees & gardens. We have a ground floor apt with an outside space with table & chairs which is nice as we have sunny weather today.

We drove to Huka Falls on the Waikato River. The Waikato River starts at Lake Taupo and flows into the sea at Auckland. At the point of the falls the river has worn away v hard rock into a 'gut'. Because this is narrower than the previous part of the river it causes a huge volume of water to converge. Five Olympic size swimming pools worth of water pass over the falls every minute. Upstream the Waikato river is clear & reflective but after tumbling over the falls it becomes turquoise with brilliant white foam. Huka is the Maori word for foam. The Waikato river feeds 15 hydroelectric power stations and provides cooling water for 3 more. It provides 15% of NZ electrical power. The ferocity of the falls prevents salmon, trout and eels swimming upstream to spawn & , therefore, there are no eels in Lake Taupo. YES!!!

We went to the Information centre in Taupo to book a cruise on Lake Taupo for tomorrow morning. Then we had a walk & a sit down beside Lake Taupo. Beautiful!!! This is the largest lake in NZ, Australasia & quite possibly the whole of the Southern hemisphere. It is as big as Singapore. BTW the population of Singapore is 4.8 million and the population of NZ is 4.4 million.

Headed back to Bayview Resort, Wairake and had a 'room service' dinner on our little patio which was really nice. There was not a cloud in the sky and we have a little family of sparrows that have befriended us that we shared some tit bits with!! There is a bell bird 'bell ringing' tunefully in the background.

Jan 6th 2012 (Fri)

This morning we went on a cruise on Lake Taupo. The boat was metal and a replica of a wooden steam ship. It was built in 1980. The cruise was very pleasant and relaxing. We sat outside as, although it was cloudy, it was calm and warm. We went to see some fabulous rock carvings done by Maoris but only about 30 years ago with the aid of scaffolding lent to them by the council. They then managed to lose it on the way back across the lake. I think the Glasgow expression for this would be "aye, right!'.

We then went back to our apt for lunch. In the afternoon we drove to Orakei Koroko cave and thermal park in "the hidden valley". It was accessed by a short ferry ride & proved to be fascinating. In fact, scenes from the BBC Natural History series 'Walking with Dinosaurs' were filmed here. Here, 20million litres of hot water from the earth flow over silica teraces every day. As the hot water with dissolved minerals in it cools it deposites silicates. There is one place where the hot water has been running over from one terrace to a lower one and it looks like a 'solid waterfall'. Algae, amazingly, grow in this hot environment & turns the terraces different colours: green, red, orange, yellow & black. Because of this they have named one area 'The Artist's Palate'.

Some of the pools were bubbling as if boiling and they could have been or not far from it. Clouds of steam were being given off. There were geysers too but these didn't oblige by going up very far for us. I believe we are going to see a more reliable one en route to Rotarua tomorrow. There were bubbling mud pools too. The hot mineral waters have chemically reacted with rocks and formed clay. As this is heated by the heat energy coming from the earth it bubbles as if boiling. The cave was interesting too & is one of only two formed in a geothermally active area, the other being in Southern Italy. Our hotel complex gets its hot water tapped from a geothermal source at a plant nearby.

Room service dinner again tonight I think as they are very tasty & reasonable & they can be eaten on the patio accompanied by our own booze!!