Monday started with some leftover pizza for breakfast before our next road trip. We were heading to Taupo for a 3 night stay by the lake. The drive took us about 2 hours with some more lovely scenery on the way. We were a little early for checking into our apartment so we parked up by the lake and went for a stroll.

After the stroll, some lunch and a visit to the supermarket we were ready to check in. We'd chosen an apartment for this stay and were not disappointed when we were shown around. Great views of the lake and a massive balcony with outdoor thermal bath are definite highlights. The sun was still shining and so we took the opportunity to lie about on the balcony and relax before taking a short stroll along the lakeside.

We'd decided to make use of the kitchen in this place so for dinner we(Mandy) made a Salmon dinner which we ate on the balcony. We finished off the night with a soak in the thermal bath!

Tuesday began with some bacon rolls on the balcony before we headed off on today's walk. We drove to a spa thermal park which really was nothing more than a park despite the name but did have a path towards one of the main attractions of the area, Huka falls. The walk along the side of the Waikato river took about an hour and the falls themselves were pretty impressive. After a good look and a few photos we headed back and then back to the apartment for a Mandy's version of a winery platter.

We lazed about on the balcony after lunch, making the most of some un forecasted sun and then headed out for another walk! Just a few km along the lake from our apartment to see what was about. We then headed back to the pad for a couple beers and our dinner.

On Wednesday Andrew drove us the short distance to Craters of the Moon which is a geothermal area where you can have a lovely walk and see some pretty cool landscape. It's full of bubbling craters and steaming vents and is really interesting to see.

After this we went for a look at Acacia bay before heading black to the apartment for a spot of lunch. We then headed out to check out more of Taupo town centre. The evening was spent relaxing on the balcony drinking wine, having dinner and soaking in our private thermal tub! Bliss.