|
New Zealand
travel - get FREE detailed information on accommodation, attractions, things to do and see
and much, much more. Just click here. . .
This guide is the big picture, the overall view, but if you want detailed information on what to see, where to go, where to eat, where to stay go to my (Not quite) Complete Guide to New Zealand Travel Where to stay, where to eat, what to see. Yes, all that. But much more. It is aimed primarily at self-drive travellers and they need to know much more. The problem is how to deliver this information in a logical way - and I have decided to serve it up as the road rolls under you. That is, the information is given kilometre by kilometre for each of the state highways. It is a work in progress. And so far it has been seven years in the making. It is far from complete, but if you are touring NZ you may find it useful. Click here to visit the (Not quite) Complete Guide To New Zealand Travel. |
Taupo, New Zealand
"The North Island's adventure centre and world famous trout fishing on Australasia's largest lake"
The dominant feature of Taupo is the lake, The Great Lake the locals call it, and its world-wide reputation is down to the superb trout fishing in that lake. Lake Taupo is the largest fresh water lake in Australasia, created in part by the world's largest volcanic event in the past 5000 years. The eruption of 1800 years ago blew a huge hole in the earth, sending ash into the atmosphere so high and so far that the Chinese and Romans recorded fiery red skies. Trout fishing is what Taupo is most famous for. The lake is cold and deep and crystal clear with many tributaries carrying an abundance of food in the water- ideal conditions for growing large fish. I have to confess that I never thought of Taupo as a major tourist destination - fishing yes, but if you're not into that then take a quick look at the Huka Falls and keep on truckin'. In more recent years, however, the region has turned into the adventure centre of the North Island - bit like Queenstown in the South Island. Bungy jumping, skydiving, jet boating, gliding, kayaking, even motor racing - these and more now make the town a stopover of some note. Sightseeing Aratiatia Rapids. The biggest rapids in Australasia, the Aratiatia Rapids come alive several times per day as the spillway is opened to send water hurtling down a spectacular rock formation, dropping 28m - about 90ft - in 800m or half a mile. The rapids were created by vertical sheets of volcanic rocks called rhyolite and obsidian - black volcanic glass. They are probably the remains of an eroded volcanic dome. In times past the entire force and flow of the Waikato River surged down this narrow chasm in a display of raw natural power. That power attracted the Electricity Department (as it was then) and they decided to build a powerhouse that would dry the rapids forever. There was a huge public outcry so as a concession to public opinion the spillways are opened three times a day and for a few hours the rapids are the awesome sight they always were. To find them go back up State Highway 5. About 2km after its intersection with SH1 the rapids are on the right hand side of the road. Water release: 10am, 12pm, 2pm & 4pm in summer and 10am, 12pm and 2pm in winter..
While you are down that way, at the falls I mean, there are several other attractions: Huka Prawn Park. Using the waste warm water from the nearby geothermal power station, Prawn Park grows fresh water prawns commercially. You can fish for them (They call it "hook-a-prawn". Cute, eh?) - and have them cooked fresh off the barbeque in the restaurant. Naturally there are all sorts of prawn delicacies in the shop and restaurant. Open from 9am every day - tours leave every hour between 11 and 4. All things honey - NZs largest showcase of honey products. Enjoy free tasting of 100% pure honey, mead and fruit wines. If the bees make it, they've got it. Manuka honey, royal Jelly, bee pollen and more. Safe viewing of live beehives, interactive displays and video show about the amazing honeybee.Adventure Activities Motor Racing Skydive Taupo From 12,000ft $220, from 15,000ft $315. Horse Riding Craters of the Moon, accessible off SH1, is an active geothermal field. Thermal mud pools bubble away and plants not normally native to the area thrive in this hot and partly noxious environment. Boardwalks and pathways have been created to lead spectators safely through the area making sure the fumes and hot temperatures around the steam vents are no danger to the tourist in this well-visited spot. Access is free but a donation to help with maintaining the tracks would be a nice gesture. Wairakei Terraces beautiful cascading silica terraces in pinks, whites and blues. These man-made terraces are a tribute to the original terraces that once stood here in Wairakei Valley, as well as the fabulous Pink and White Terraces (the 8th Wonder of the World), buried and lost forever when Rotorua's Mount Tarawera erupted violently in 1886. Back in the 50s when the NZ Electricity Department, a government-owned outfit, was frantically building power stations, environmental concerns were just not on the radar. Here in Wairakei they just built the geothermal power station over the terraces and the Wairakei stream. But the terraces will rise again from the dead in a co-operative enterprise between Contact Energy, which now owns the power station, and a group of local Maori. They started by building a concrete replica of the terraces, then allowed nature to take over, coating them with layers of multi-coloured silica. Take a one hour tour of the Wairakei Terraces Walkway, and enjoy stories and history of New Zealand, Ngatoroirangi. (the famous Maori navigator who brought volcanic fire to New Zealand) and Ngati Tuwharetoa, the local Maori tribe, conveyed to you through the impressive carved features throughout the walkway. You can also visit the blue pools, hot ‘Te Kiri o Hinekai’ Stream and Honeymoon Pool (famous for its therapeutic and healing powers), red mud pools, a spectacular man-made geyser and a Maori carving house featuring carvers at work. In the evening, you can experience the richness of Maori culture. Receive a traditional welcome and witness the passionate challenge and Maori speeches. Enjoy Maori song and dance before touring the Wairakei Terraces. Meet and watch traditional Maori carvers, tattooists, weavers and musicians before a hangi (a meal cooked under the earth) and be entertained into the night with a concert of song, dance and haka.
Thermal Spa Pools Maori Rock Cervings. The Maori rock carvings at Mine Bay are over 10 metres high and are only accessible by boat. The spiritual and cultural beauty of these magnificent carvings towering over deep waters are particularly beautiful in a setting sun. In the late 1970s master carver Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell came to his mother's land at Lake Taupo and on a boat trip around the Western Bays saw in the cliffs a canvas for his work. Matahi decided to carve a likeness of Ngatoroirangi, a visionary Maori navigator who guided the Tuwharetoa and Te Arawa tribes to the Taupo area over a thousand years ago. In recognition of the multi-cultural nature of New Zealand, Matahi also carved two smaller figures of Celtic design, which depict the south wind and a mermaid. The Ngatoroirangi carving took four summers to complete and the carvers took no payment other than donations to cover the cost of the scaffolding. The carving has become an important cultural attraction for the region and is a wonderful gift and example of traditional Maori knowledge and skills. Fishing Lake Taupo is New Zealand's premier fishing destination and is an internationally renowned trout fishery. Taupo offers superb fishing for large brown and rainbow trout all year, with mainly boat fishing in the summer and fly fishing in the winter. Brown trout are plentiful but outnumbered by the rainbows.which are of steelhead stock, but are prevented from going to sea by the hydro dams along the rivers. They live in the lake all summer then make spawning runs upstream, returning to the lake in spring to fatten up again by autumn. The fish average around 1.4kg but every year fish of over 7kg (15lbs) are caught.
The harling method uses normal fly lines rods and reels to troll or "harl" a fly. This is particularly effective when the trout are surface feeding on smelt - a small fish. In the summer the best fly fishing is at the river mouths. A radius of 300 m from where the stream enters the lake is designated "fly only". The fish congregate around the river mouths where the colder water flows in, bringing food with it. Fishing is done either by wading out and casting into the rip, or casting from a moored boat. Some of the best streams are often accessible only by boat. For a good backgrounder on local conditions go to NZ Fishing website. Gardens At the Taupo Museum (see below) they have recreated the "100% Pure
New Zealand Ora - Garden of Wellbeing" which won a gold medal at the
2004 Chelsea Flower Show. The garden has been
cleverly designed to capture the essence of the central North Island.
Ora's
remarkable replica silica terraces, created in the Weta Workshop in
Wellington - better known for their work in films like "Lord Of The
Rings" - were inspired by the Orakei Korako geothermal area
nestled in a hidden valley north of Taupo. It has 35 hectares of gardens, an alpine
garden, lemonwood walk and 2000 rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias that are
a blaze of colour every spring. Taupo
Museum
Home to a blend of heritage and culture; from yesterday’s historic treasures
to today’s contemporary art. Expositions on the history, the trout
fishing and especially the geology of the area - because, let's be honest,
geology is a biggie in this region. Volcanic Activity Centre, Explore the mysteries of the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Learn the secrets of local volcanoes and geothermal areas by experiencing the interactive and educational displays and films A big favourite is the earthquake simulator which knocks out a mighty earthquake of a magnitude equivalent to 6.3 on the Richter scale. Take a seat, hit the button and hang on while the earth trembles and shakes and the light bulb flickers and sways.
A New Zealand Travel Guide is written by David Morris and published by 148 Hillsborough Rd, Hillsborough,
Auckland 1042,
New Zealand. [Return to the top of A New Zealand Travel Guide] |
Huka Falls
While 47 rivers and streams feed into the lake
there is but one outlet – the mighty Waikato River.
