One sentence : Lake Taupo is the size of Singapore.
That's how big it is.
Most people come here for Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The crossing of the volcanic alps of the Tongariro National Park that's located here, or rather an hour drive from here.
I didn't know bout this till the day I was here lol.
Didn't I say I never did much research on New Zealand. I only decide on my next destination when I reach a certain town/city.
Taupo is about an hour and a half drive away from Rotorua, further south of New Zealand North Island.
Besides the super huge lake, and some extreme activity nearby, there isn't much to do in the town itself. Though there are a couple of interesting places here, all about 5 - 8 km walk away.
A good thing about travelling in New Zealand is that they're really tourists friendly. They spent lots of effort into the tourism industry here. There're lots of walks, information centres and free thick detailed brochures and free clean public toilets and stuff.
The people here are friendly, if you dared enough, you can travel New Zealand by hitch-hiking alone. Of coz, never trust anyone 100%, it's still important to know how to take care of yourself,
Anyway, back to Taupo.
Firstly the nearest attraction, just on the beach of Lake Taupo, about 15 minutes walk from town centre:
The Hot Water Beach. There's a volcano nearby, remember?
if you look closely, you can see steam coming off from the water.
Though it's stated "scalding hot water", you can play safely on the nearby beach 10 meter from here. The water is warm eventhough it's early autumn and the water is supposed to be cool.
But then, this is not an interesting enough of a "Hot Water Beach" compared to the one in Coromandel, which I did not go.
Then the next attraction is the super clear river. Good for a refreshing dip anyone? Too bad, I can't swim tho.
omg, look at the colour! somehow reminds me of konyaku jelly XD
and of coz, by the river there's the:
The highest water-touch bungy in New Zealand! I read that somewhere~
All can be book on this website here at discounted prices. To book activities from other region, simply change the option "Change Region" at the top of the page.
Also, there's Skydive Taupo here too if you're an adrenaline junky! Which I'm planning to do in Queenstown! The company in Taupo actually sends a limousine to pick you up at your place lol. I wonder if I get to ride a limousine in Queenstown too.
There's a spa pool here for a good relaxing outdoor free spa in the nature (again, thanks to the volcano nearby).
Those water from the small waterfall is actually hot.
see the people relaxing in the water there?
this is all along the walk to the main attraction here:
The Huka Falls!
The map said 5km walk from town centre, but it felt more than 5 to me, maybe 7? -__-
oh well, it was worth it..
and the weather was cool, so it's not that difficult a walk eventhough it's more like a little hiking than actual walk on flat road.
Okay, now to the main tourist spot in Taupo.
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing:
Like I said previously, it's an hour drive from Taupo. And the main walk starts and end at different point. So if you're driving, I would recommend you to leave your car at your accommodation and get a shuttle to send you there. You wouldn't wanna walk all the way from one end to the other just to realise your car is parked at the first end, which is 20km away.
I paid 55NZD for this trip, it was cheaper to book directly with the company than with your accommodation which in my case would be 65 NZD instead. A friend I made in Taupo told me that and he was the one who recommended and booked this trip for me. Thanks :D He's a nice guy.
I went at the start of Autumn, so the weather was still pretty much ok (or so I thought). There's not much preparations that need to be done compared to if you visit during the winter. Then you would need all the equipments for tramping and very warm clothings and also a guide who knows his stuff.
The shuttle came to pick us up at 6+ in the morning and we started our walk around 8 in the morning.
The complete walk from one end to another end would take about 6 to 7 hour, so you'll have to start early and be on time.
The start of the walk was still ok, pretty much flat.
it was about 4km in that it's starting to get difficult.
Maybe because it was still early, we don't see much people around.
Pass this sign and it's a almost to the point of no return. That's either you continue on and finish the walk or you turn back here.
Well..... of coz I went on! since I was already here. Challenge, I take you up!
But 200m in, it's starting to get so difficult that I didn't feel like taking out my camera anymore. >.<
No picture, but it's mostly steeeeep staircases and super strong wind and super low temperature, The weather was bad. It's been raining the past 2 days, and the walk was closed the past 2 days. Seems like today's not good as well. It was drizzling too.
The fact that you're walking on the edges of hills (I dunno how to describe it but it's wall of rocks/or plants on your right and nothing on your left, so if you trip or something, you fly down the mountain to your left) on steep staircases while the wind is blowing strongly is scary enough! Imagine if you couldn't hold your stand when the wind blows, or you trip or something, you'll be flying down the mountain. There's nothing to hold on to but the rocks and plants around you.
It was near the end of the first crater that we met people (even experienced hiker) who gave up and turned back. We were told that it's gonna get much worse up there (they couldn't see the path ahead and the wind is causing them much trouble to even stand straight) and we should turn back. That's when I decided to follow the American guy's advise and turned back >.<
In the end, much of the people in the group I came with turned back and returned to the starting point.
There's people who gave it a try, turned back and gave it a second try 30 minutes later and finished the walk though. Awesome people.
But if you do get to the top, there're 2 lakes on top the alpine with different colours and an active volcano mouth. Do a bit of googling and you'll see pictures everywhere! I'm out of wifi quota here, so I ain't gonna do it >.<
According to the friend who recommended me, it's not the best view or walk in New Zealand but it's definitely the hardest. So if you're planning to do this walk, be prepared and make sure you're fit enough!
I did this walk on my last day in Taupo, so I'm leaving the next day.
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