The Taupo region was next in line on our trip, and is a good rest point on the way to Wellington at the bottom of the North Island. A day hike that is also famous is the Tongario crossing which ventures over and around a dormant but not extinct volcano; it takes in several crater lakes and hot pools along with other thermal activity spots. We had planned on doing this hike as part of our preparation for the Inca trail as it is quite a challenging 17killometres. The weather on and around the crossing changes hourly so until we reached Taupo we could not finalise our plans, at this point we were still on route to Taupo and the weather was wet and dull so we had no idea what it would be like when we arrived.

On our route from Wai—O-Tapu to Taupo we stopped off at a place called Huka falls, these falls are different to the others we have visited as they are manmade, for a purpose. The purpose been to generate power for the surrounding region, the water flow is controlled by a dam upstream releasing more or less water dependant on the energy demand of day or night. The river is actually really clean as you can see from the pictures; it catches the light to create an electric blue colour as it rages down the purposely small channel and over the fall.

Taupo was a short drive from the falls meaning we arrived early afternoon, the famous lake and mountains were sadly dimmed by the cloudy grey day. We took the opportunity to be indoors and stock up on our food before having a wonder around town to get familiar with the area. The campsite we chose for the night had weather reports for the Tongario crossing as trips ran from the area and campsite. The news though was not good as cloud was covering the pass and it was not recommended to attempt a crossing and seen as the guides that walk this pass for a living were not prepared to take their groups out, we decided we would not risk it unless the weather changed drastically overnight and the report changed. Sadly nothing changed overnight and no one was attempting the trek, so instead we took the chance to skype home. It was a highly amusing time trying to sort the cameras out with people, but always nice to chat.

As Taupo had little else to offer us we set off for our next stop, on the way we drove to the visitor centre at the start of the trek that we weren't now doing. Here we at least get some info on what happens with and around the volcano as it is also monitored from here for activity which still occurs. Nearby is a Chateau which if you stay at will reward you with fantastic views of the snow capped volcano, it is also the most photographed building in the southern hemisphere. So we added to the count and took our own picture.
After our small diversion we were back en route to where we were heading for the night which was Palmerston North. By the time we reached Palmerston North the weather had gone from a cold rainy day to glorious sunshine, as it was around tea time when we got to our campsite we still had time to make use of the new improved weather. We made a short drive to the Victoria Esplanade which turned out to be a big park and only the next street from the campsite, here David managed to make his usual friends with the ducks at the pond getting himself surrounded for stale bread he had. We stuck with the animal trail and toured the aviary, which had birds the colour of the rainbow plus some rather noisy ones too. The final stop was the rose garden which would not be a norm for us; however it claimed to have over 100 varieties, which indeed it did. Again we were witness to an abundance of colour and several scented variations, we got a few snaps to try and give you an idea but it won't really match up.

The following day we took a wonder around the city square which is dominated by a rather tall single standing clock tower; this is strange in the way that it is stood solely instead of on top of something. The usual Maori carvings and statues were scattered around the square, and all with their tongues out which is common for them. After our city visit we found a rugby museum but it didn't open until late in the day which would be too late for us, so that was out. The wind farm which claims to be the biggest in the southern hemisphere was visible to us in part from the bottom of the valley, and it stretched across four hills that we could see so its claim may well be true. As this stop was only a rest stop we decided this was enough done and got back on the road to head for Wellington which if you didn't know is the capital of NZ.