City Guide Taupo, New Zealand

Taupo

Great city for outdoor experiences, close to geothermal, lake, walking and cycling sites and more happening than Rotorua

Insider Tip:Lake Rotoponamou on the other side of the lake (Take national park road) is a great walk.

Tongariro Day-Trip

Taupo is a lovely place to walk around for a bit but the best bit for me was the day trip to the Tongariro Crossing. I can see why it is the most popular day walk in NZ. We got snow, volcanic areas, beautiful lakes, scrubland and forest areas.

Insider Tip:Instead of paying NZ$55 each for a return trip with a tour company just organise a few people in the hostel and rent a car/minibus. Only takes 80mins to get there. Then just one of you get the shuttle bus to the start (NZ$25) and come and pick everyone up. (Even better just ask around and ofer to share petrol with whoever is going, theres bound to be someone!)

Tempting Taupo

Taupo is a lovely little town with plenty to do and a sense of hospitality I haven't yet seen elsewhere in New Zealand. On our long weekend my partner and I managed to visit Taupo hot springs, the botanical gardens, huka falls, craters of the moon. We also managed to hike up mount Tahara and enjoy the lovely walks around the river. Yet we still missed out on so much. Taupo also has a few shops which are worth visiting in town. But your time is better spent exploring or participating in the wide variety of activities which are offered in and around Taupo. For dinner skip the American fast food chains with line the river front (and make it look ugly) and opt for a local run cafe in the centre of town. A big thank you to the lovely staff at craters of the moon, and also the staff at Taupo bungy who offered us a lift home in the rain, even though we haven't even jumped!

Insider Tip:My advice to any visiting Taupo would be to ditch the car for a day or two and get your walking boots on. We could have seen both Huka falls and craters of the moon in half a day had we had a car. It was a good job we didn't....... we would have missed out on so much. One day we set off at 9.30 from town and Hiked up to Huka falls and craters of the moon. The journey took us through hot springs where tourists in the middle of winter were stripping off to bathe in the warm water, past Taupo bungy jump where we watched for an least an hour people jumping off the beautiful mountain top and not too mention the different people you meet along the way. The journey took all day but was more than worth while.

we were there for a family reunion, but managed to fit in lots of other things. Waterskiing and trips on the lake to see the rock carvings on cliffs, as well as soaks in the hot mineral baths, and walks to all the scenic sights around the area. The only negative thing during whole stay, was a couple of days of unexpected bad weather. Still, we didn't allow that to hold us back from having a great time. Lots of choices in activites and places to relax for all age groups.

Insider Tip:Hot pools at De Bretts (on Napier Hwy) cost $NZ12 each, but were well worth it....after a day of sightseeing and walking around, they really relax the muscles!