Great Lake Taupo
I spent my Easter weekend in the Great Lake Taupo. My friend Kelley and her friend Caleigh and I rented a car and drove 4.5 hours from Wellington to Lake Taupo. In Lake Taupo we spent our first night getting dinner on the board walkover looking the huge lake surrounded by many mountains including a volcano and Mt. Ruapehu.
On our first day in Taupo I went skydiving.
I was very excited to skydive that I couldn’t even tell if I was nervous or not, plus the airplane was pink so I couldn’t say no. My skydive instructor was Marley he is an Australian guy currently living in Taupo. I couldn’t have gotten luckier with who my assigned sky dive instructor was. As if skydiving wasn’t already going to be a blast he made it that much better. Plus we still talk all the time.
We started our skydive by going on a 30 minute scenic flight above Lake Taupo. The view of North Island is beyond breathtaking. Once we reached 12,000 feet Marley and I were pushed up to the door. Where I hung out over the edge of the plane while Marley was holding on to the plane. Then we jumped out. The first 10 seconds of free fall my stomach dropped and I finally got scared. After the first 10 seconds when Marley tapped me on the shoulders so I could release my arms out it was nothing but joy, and my fear was gone. The feeling of free falling is pretty indescribably amazing. After about a minute in free fall Marley pulled the parachute, and then we began to float down. Once the parachute is pulled you feel so utterly safe that you forget you’re falling from the sky. You can’t help but smile as you look out across the North Island of New Zealand. As we floated down through the sky Marley allowed me to take the parachute and fly us in whatever direction I chose for a bit, before heading in for landing. Skydiving was truly a once in a lifetime incredible experience, especially above such a breathtaking country.
After skydiving we drove 1.5 hours up to Hobbiton. Only to find out a tour of the hobbit huts was $80 so we passed this time. However I will make my way back for a tour another time.
We then spent our evening at the Wairakei Terraces, which are hot spring thermal pools right out side of Lake Taupo. They got up to 106 degrees Fahrenheit! These thermal pools were filled with crystal blue waters containing silica making it great for our skin.
We then headed back to our campsite for the night. On our last day in Taupo we drove up the road from where we were camping to Huka falls a magnificently blue waterfall. Huka Falls was featured in the Lord of the Rings. It was the waterfall in which the dwarves go over in barrels.
Our adventure to Lake Taupo was nothing short of spectacular as most New Zealand has been. Next stop is Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast Australia!
Oh and Happy Birthday Mom!
