We began our day nice and early and with much needed coffee before quickly heading out the door to begin our next adventure! Today, we are driving towards Lake Taupō, an ancient supervolcano! But first, right in Rotorua, we are stopping by a redwood forest. How cool! I have seen redwoods before in California, but not the GIANT ones, and these redwoods were so gorgeous and tall! Some were pretttttttty thick! This redwoods park has a neat tree walk adventure you can pay for as well. At first, it didn’t look as enticing as it sounded, but then we saw a map of the entire circuit, and it looked lengthy and high up, so we decided it could be a lot of fun. THEN, we saw you could do it at nighttime, with lanterns hanging from the trees! Sold. For the next trip. 🙂
With the redwoods checked off on Hayden’s sheet of paper that listed all our potential activities, or as it was misheard and consequently renamed by Dana for the remainder of our trip, “shitty paper,” 🤣, we were onto the next: Orekei Karako, a geothermal area on the way to Taupō. We left Rotorua early enough to arrive at Orekei Karako as it opened. Even though we were about 10 minutes “late,” there were only 5 cars total in the parking lot. We guessed most were the staff, and one was a camper van that probably parked there overnight. So basically, we were the only group! We did see the boat head across the lake before we got our tickets, but we figured there would be enough space between us and them anyway.
Orekei Karako was stunning in a wild, dangerous, mystical sort of way. We were warned to stay on the boardwalk as we should assume the water all around to be boiling and capable of burning our skin. But other than a quick warning and safety briefing, they let us board the boat, and we sailed across the lake to guide ourselves through. I can’t believe they trust us! 😅🤪
Walking through the park is other-worldly and feels like mother nature’s science experiment. So many colors and designs and pools of bubbling, boiling water. To make things even better, we didn’t see another human until we came across a worker with a leaf blower. That must’ve been who came on the boat before us! Hehe. Literally, we are the only visitors here! Always go early! We took our time meandering through, giggling at all the danger signs. All I could think of was 🎵 “highway to the danger zone!”🎵🤣. As we finished up, we enjoyed some snacks and a coffee from the visitors center before hitting the road again.
Before reaching Taupō, Dana wanted to bring me to the “Bee Hive,” a large store that has, you guessed it, honey products! We got to sample some different honeys, and it was pretty impressive how different they each tasted. They had plenty of beauty products as well, including some with bee venom! Yikes! Haha. Don’t go near if you’re allergic! 🤪
Just outside of Taupō is the famed Huka Falls; both a must-see and an overwhelming tourist destination. It takes about 30 seconds to walk from the parking lot to the bridge that crosses the rushing blue water. And when I say blue, I mean cotton candy blue or maybe ice blue? I’ve seen pictures before and wondered how they compared to seeing it in real life. And I can say it is just as blue, if not more so than the photos. After fighting through the tourist hoards, we take it all in, pose for some photos, and back in the car we go to find out Airbnb.
Our Airbnb was super cute, but a ways from town. So, we unloaded the car, connected to WiFi, and made a game plan for the afternoon. The forecast showed rain in the afternoon, so we wanted to make the most of the dry weather while we could.
We drove to town to a small restaurant called Fish Box to have some fish n’ chips. I didn’t really think anything of it, but little did I know, fish n’ chips are a BIG thing here in NZ. I was prepared for the British fish n chips with loads of vinegar and salt. No no no. Haha. NZ fish n chips are “crummed;” a light flaky batter as opposed to the thick oily beer batter. AND the fish is spectacular! We had gurnard, and when I tell you this fish was buttery and sweet and pure perfection, listen to me. Haha. There was ZERO need or want for vinegar or salt. By far, the best fish n chips I have ever had. I’m almost afraid to try it somewhere else in NZ in case it’s not the same. 😅
We ate this delectable meal right on the lake, and after we finished, we walked down the esplanade and sat a moment by the edge of this enormous lake. I wanted to go to town and walk around, hoping to find some souvenirs of some kind or another. AND to see this famous McDonalds I had been hearing about for days, haha. Now, I’m the least McDonalds-y person there is, but my curiosity was peaked. Hayden was sure I’d love it, but Dana became worried he was building it up too much. He was like a kid in a candy shop, full force giddy, and I was all for it. 🤣
We walked down one street, and Hayden knew it was around the corner and literally ran down to see it. Before I rounded the corner, he told me to close my eyes or to not look up. I tilted my hat down and stared at the ground as I walked. Soon, I was instructed to lift my gaze at the spectacle in front of me…
A PLANE. There was a PLANE parked right next to McDonalds, a part of it. OMG. SOOOOOO COOOOOOL. I couldn’t wait to check it out! We wanted to get some ice cream and settled on the classic McFlurry so we could sit INSIDE the airplane. Except it was way too hot to sit in an aluminum can, so we took pictures and ate where the AC was cranking.
After walking around the cute and touristy downtown, we drove back to Airbnb for a cozy night in. We showered, got our new favorite tv show set up, and snuggled on the couch. We made popcorn, and Dana and I shared some wine. THEN. It began to rain. Hard core. Thunder, Lightning, and even HAIL. What a show! It was the perfect addition to a cozy evening. 🤗
While we were vegging, I checked the possibilities of doing a quick trip down to the South Island, and Hayden put on his travel agent hat and was looking for flights, and I was checking out day trip availability and accommodations. Just a little while later, I was booking said flights, day trips, and hostels. It all just worked out so seamlessly, and even the weather forecast was looking favorable. So, why miss out on the opportunity? Hehe. Yay! Cheers to a surprise adventure! 😁🤗
We woke up to head to our next Airbnb, right outside of the National Park in Okahune. But along the way, we stopped in the National Park to do some hiking. First up: Tawhai Falls, also known as Gollum’s pool. It’s a short hike with a great waterfall, perfect for a morning stroll.
Next up was a longer hike to see another, even larger waterfall, all while hiking with excellent views of Mt. Ngauruhoe, or “Mt. Doom.” Except for the clouds blocking all views of the perfect cinder cone. 😭 Waaahhh. I guess we can’t luck out every time. The hike was still super beautiful, passing through alpine prairies and then through small clusters of super dense forest with trees covered in moss! My favorite! “Oh, look! Another mossy tree!” Hehe. Eventually, we left the forested area to be greeted with a very rocky terrain, and just ahead, the Taranaki Waterfall. It was beautiful!
After soaking up the moment, we began the trek back to the car. While on our journey, Dana suffered from a blister incident, and combined with the clouds, we decided to bail on the last hike on the list, also for views of Ngauruhoe. We considered backtracking to some hot springs but realized they only had private ones available for rent. In the end, we all agreed we’d head to the Airbnb in the ski town and just relax. 🤗
Okahune has a super important and must-see spot for anyone nearby. A GIANT carrot, among other vegetables. Don’t believe me? Check out the picture! Haha. This is a whole park with these larger than life vegetables, some with oddly human looking limbs. Very strange, but Okahune is known for its carrots, so then again, maybe it’s just one big marketing scheme. 😂🥕
After grabbing some groceries, we head back to our “mountain chalet,” pig out, and watch an obscene amount of “Ghosts” episodes. I think the road trip has caught up to us, and having the afternoon to just chill and binge was exactly what we needed.
Sunday started out with huge fail. We had our hearts set on doing the “Bridge to Nowhere,” but as it turns out, it’s in the middle of nowhere. Literally. 🤣. There are no roads there. The only ways to see it are a) to kayak up the river and then walk 40 minutes, or to start at the other end of a long cycling trail and walk for at least 2 or 3 days to get there. Sooooo…. We’re NOT doing the bridge to nowhere, haha. 😅🤣
No problem for us, though! Just a quick pivot, and we’re back in action. The sky appeared to be nearly cloudless, so we decided to do some more hiking in the National Park. First up was a trail head near our Airbnb, one that ended at another waterfall! This was probably the least impressive waterfall of all the ones we’ve seen so far… The viewpoint didn’t offer a good view, and it wasn’t much more than a trickle. It is, however, the highest altitude waterfall in the National Park. So that’s cool! And, the trail was actually gorgeous! My favorite part was the amazing view of Mt. Ruapheu, as we crossed the alpine prairie.
Next up was a trail I heard about when I offered to take someone’s picture the day before. It’s Mead’s Wall and is a very short hike from the ski resort, which is situated super close to the summit of Ruapheu. It was other-worldly up there, to say the least. It felt like driving through Mars with the volcanic landscape peppered with rough jagged rocky outcroppings. No life in sight.
I found it so unique to have a ski resort on a volcano! I couldn’t, and if I’m being honest, I still can’t wrap my head around it. When I think of ski resorts, I think of very lush, evergreen mountains covered in beautiful snow. There are most definitely no trees up on top of this volcano turned ski slope, haha.
Mead’s Wall turned out to be one of our favorite nuggets in the National Park and is apparently yet another site that was used in LOTR. Cool! The best part was the amazing view of “Mt. Doom!” 😍🤩
Next up was the ridge hike to see Ngauruhoe that we bailed on yesterday! Recovery! We could see her loud and proud on the horizon, but after seeing her from Mead’s Wall, we decided the view up there was better. And this hike was all uphill. The entire way. Haha. Good exercise, and I’m glad we crossed it off the list, but, truth be told, there’s no need to hike it. You’re welcome. 😄
After that, it was time to head home to Wanganui, ending our road trip. It was only a few days, but it felt like weeks. And it was amazing to have the trio back together for another adventure. I can’t wait to see where we go over the years! What will be next? Japan? A waffle in Belgium? South Africa? Your guess is as good as mine!
Back in Wanganui, we stopped for kebabs; a must have to kill off the oncoming “hanger.” If you don’t know already, it’s a thing in NZ to go barefoot everywhere. Even restaurants. So Dana and I lived it up and went in with no shoes! It felt so wrong to do since nearly everywhere in the states is the opposite: “No shoes, no shirt, no service.” I LOVED going barefoot, haha. It was odd, for sure, but it was such a neat experience, and I suppose now I can check that one off the list. 🤗
The rest of the evening was spent planning and packing for my surprise side-quest adventure to the South Island! Here we goooo! 😁
Taking Off With Amelia 