Not too far from Napier, inland and up the center of the North Island to Lake Taupo. We were chasing the rain and cold and even saw flurries of snow as we crossed over the highest parts of the pass.
When we arrived in Taupo, it was POURING and we were hungry and thirsty. I crept through bags, under the bed, to turn the gas on so we could make coffee and lunch without having to leave the van. Marius was too big...
By the time we'd finished our lunch, the wind had blown the clouds away and the sun was out. This is Lake Taupo - New Zealand's biggest lake. And check out the waves...
Since the sun was out, we decided to go see the Haku Falls, along the Waikato River. We didn't realise that it was a 3km walk each way, but the sun was out and the walk was lovely...
We passed a little hot spring on our way - the water is heated geothermally and Marius decided that he was coming back for a swim in the morning...
With -3 deg C forecast for overnight, it was already chilly and we dressed warmly for our walk...
Only to have to carry everything again. And yes, I forgot my walking shoes in the car...
We eventually reached the falls. They're not very high falls, but they're incredibly powerful...
Up river...
And Marius at a look out... look how beautiful the colour of the water is...
We did our most interesting shopping in Taupo too. You pick up your shopping bags at the door and do your shopping. When you get to the till, there is no teller. You ring up your own groceries, weigh your own fruit and veg, pay by yourself and then pack everything by yourself. It would NEVER work in Africa, nobody would pay for a thing. We decided to make spaghetti bolegnaise for supper - a quick one with a ready made sauce and tinned mushrooms - it was actually surprisingly yummy... 
Jake wanted me to try different fruit for him while I was there. The green thing is a feijoa and the red one is a tamarillo. Feijoa is a bit like a guava and the tamarillo is like a bitter plum crossed with a ganadilla crossed with a tomato. ...
After supper, we did a load of washing and couldn't figure out why our washing didn't get clean - it was only when we woke up to a very cold and frosty morning that Marius realised the pipes were frozen...
It was a winter wonderland outside and I couldn't get outside fast enough (in my PJs) to take photos...
A pretty leaf...
Everything was frozen until the sun came up and even then, if it was in the shade, it stayed frozen...
Marius swam in the resort's heated pool the night before and hung his swimming shorts up over the side mirror to dry... hahaha...
It looks like Christmas, right??
The view out of the windscreen - all that white is ice...
The sun makes everything look better...
That's actually quite a lot of ice...
Marius was busy emptying out our water tanks...
The bins were frozen shut...
And true to his word, Marius headed back to the hot water springs for a swim! It was -2 when we got out the car and he was already barefoot and in his shorts...
The ice was thick...
But inside the 40 deg pool, it was warm... I did join him and it was amazing. Another guy (a Maori) joined us and chatted for a bit. He warned us not to put our heads under the water because of the bacteria (cerebral amoeba meningitis) that lives in the geothermal pools and attacks your brain through your ears... too late for Marius, he'd already had his head underwater for some time. Whoops. He's OK though and the goggas didn't get to his brain. It was FREEZING getting out...
The little birds were very grateful for the crumbs...
This would explain the temperatures!! And by the way, this was also the hike I'd hoped to do while we were there... The Toringoriro Crossing, over 3 volcanoes. Marius told me I wasn't fit enough and when I saw all that snow, I was glad to be warm. Marius on the other hand, struggled not to rush over there and play in the snow...
We went inside and had sat by the fire side and drank hot chocolate instead...
The next stop is on the way...
Sue XXX
1 comment:
Wow, that was cold and icy!
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