The first day of Taupo was shocking weather so we spent the day chilling out. We went to the large local sports centre to the swimming baths, which had an indoor and outdoor heated pool linked through a tunnel which was gorgeous. The water was so warm and the steam cominng of the swimming pool outside made the water look so inviting. We stayed here for quite a while relaxing in the sauna and steamm room and took it easy. After we sorted some bank issues out over skype we then ended the day with a slap up meal (beans and fried eggs hahaha) and a trip to the cinema to watch the new movies Ghosts of Girlfriends Past with Matt M, it was absolutely hilarious.A really good end to a day of home comforts. The next day was much nicer and the lake looked beautiful, its the largest lake in NZ which was formed by one of the greatest volcanic explosions of all time. It is hailed as the worlds trout fishing capital. Anywyay our first stop was the Craters of the Moon thermal area. this sprang up into action in the 1950's when the nearby power station lowered underground water levels. As the hot water was withdrawn from deep within the gorunds of the thermal area, the water level in the deep reservoir dropped and the remaining water boiled more violently,producing more steam, escaping at the Craters of the Moon sight. As Nz lies on the edge of two colliding tectonic plates, the Pacific and Indonesian plates there is a hell of alot of thermal and volcanic activity in NZ. The Craters of the Moon walk was about an hour long and took us past bubbling craters, mud pools, steam vents, colourful soils and explosive craters, however we didnt see any explosions haha, so cool!! it was also interesting to read about the plant life that can survive around this area due to the harsh and steamy conditions. It was incredible to see this as we have never seen anything like this before. It seemed so dangerous and the signs as you walk in the park, accepting no responsibility for injuries is always promising haha. it was well worth the visit though and we're looking forward to seeing more of this in Rotorua later on in the trip. After here we went to Huka falls, which is one of NZ's most natural attractions on the longest river in NZ. It is a huge and powerful waterfall that supplis a ridiculous amount of hydro energy and power to alot of NZ. It was very impressive and we watched people jet boating right up to the bottom of the falls. However they didnt get to close as it has a really strong undertow apparently. Anyway it was time for some lunch so had a cheeky Burger King and then had a little walk along the lake before we moved on. It was so big, and you could see faintly in the distance the volcanic peaks of Tongariro National Park, our next destination for the best one day walk in NZ, the Tongariro Alpine crossing where you get to see volcanoes, craters, and turqoise volcanic crater lakes etc. This is one of the main things we have been looking forward to during our trip in NZ.