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Huka Falls in Lake Tapu

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The Waikato River, New Zealand’s longest river, moves gracefully north from Lake Taupō between banks 100 metres apart. Just before the Huka Falls, the river enters a shallow ravine of hard volcanic rock. The effect is nature’s large-scale equivalent of a fire hose feeding into a very fine nozzle.

This causes over 200,000 liters of water to gush through causing amazing rapids and beautiful falls.

At Huka Falls you can witness the phenomenon of natural hydro power with more than 220,000 litres of water per sec barreling over 11meter high waterfall.

It is simply beautiful and awe inspiring to see the rapids come from a serene lake and end in an equally peaceful river.

I simply could not get enough of this stunning sight.  The falls are only 11 meters high but the mere fact that the water is moving at such a rapid pace takes your breath away.

There is a short, well marked trail that is well protected by high railings.  We enjoyed the spectacular views and light mist that dusted our faces.  As we were leaving the parking lot we found another little trail that took us lower and closer to the falls.  It gave us a great view of the falls.

I highly recommend a visit to the Huka Falls are they are as impressive as they are beautiful.

Events from this blog post occurred in Mid-March.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  Did you catch our last blog post where we visit the Craters of the Moon?

Craters of the Moon: Lake Tapu

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After we left Tongariro National Park, we head north toward Rotorua.  But we have several stops planned along the way.  Our first stop is Craters of the Moon which are geothermal pools.  We see a giant geyser off to the side of the road as we approach our site.

All of the craters at Craters of the Moon are the result of hydrothermal eruptions.   This is when a steam vent is temporarily blocked and the pressure behind the blockage builds up and causes an explosion.  Hot water, steam, mud and pumice are thrown up into the air causing the surrounding soil to collapse forming a hole or crater.

The loop around Craters of the Moon

There is a a lovely 40-minute loop walk around the craters of the moon that takes you around the property.  You can add an additional 20-minute walk if you decide to do the upper loop and the stairs to the top of a large geyser (which we opt to do).

The largest crater in the park is 40 meters across and really hard to miss.  There are puffs of smoke everywhere you look.

There is only a light sulfur smell which is surprising.  The temperatures rise between 5-8 degrees around the park.

Wayne get’s a free facial at one of the geysers.

The Craters of the Moon were created in 1991 so the park is fairly new.  But they have a nice path that takes you around the park and lovely signs that tell you about what you are seeing.

Super fun experience and it only cost us $10NXD per person.  All of the money goes to supporting the trust that runs the park.  

  • Kilometers traveled: 120km
  • Hotel: Arawa Hotel
  • Travel time: 1.35hr
  • Kilometers Walked: 8.6km

Events from this day occurred in Mid-March.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events. Check out our last blog post Tongariro Park National.

Tongariro National Park Hikes

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We came to the Tongariro National Park so that we could do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which has been hailed as the best one day hike in the world.  It is 19km (12miles) and takes about 7-8 hours.

However, our plans were changed and we had to skip this beautiful hike.  Matt hurt his knee while jumping over the Moeraki Boulders and had a severe limp.  Then we watched the video and I realized that I probably would have much difficulty on the descent as it is over 1,000 meters straight down and that would wreak habit on my knees.

So, what did we do with our now free day?  Different hikes that did not have steep climbs.

Taranki Water Falls

About 45 minutes away from our hotel are the Taranki Water Falls.  They are a whopping 20m tall and can be found in the center of the Taranki Falls loop walk which is about 6km and takes 2 hours.

The views are lovely with towering mountains and vast fields.

Volcanoes and mountains reach for the sky.

We crossed over several rivers and enjoyed many small waterfalls

Half way thru the track we finally come to the Taranki Water Fall and it is majestic!

The waterfall jets out of the mountain and lands into a beautiful small pool at the bottom.

The views are really stunning.

Whakapapa Gondola and Restaurant

Just down the road is Whakapapa (which is pronounced “fakapapa”) where the longest gondola and the highest restaurant are located.  This is a ski resort in the winter so there are ski lifts, snow machines, and snow makers all over the place.  In the spring, summer, and fall, it is used for mountain bikers and hikers.

We were hungry after our walk and were really looking forward to eating at the highest restaurant in NZ.  However, it was closed so we were robbed of the experience.

The view is still stunning, but I can only imagine it being spectacular in the winter when it is all covered in snow.

Unfortunately, the restaurant was closed which seriously irritated me!  But we did enjoy the view and they had a fabulous tiki at the top.

Next we decide to go to do the loop around Lake Rotopounamu (say that 3 times fast).

Lake Rotopounamu Loop Walk

Another 30 minutes down the road we arrive at the Lake Rotopounamu Loop walk which is 5km and about 1.45hrs.  This track circles a beautiful lake surrounded by native forest and is a special favorite of tree lovers and birdwatchers.  It is a relatively flat walk with less than a 150m incline and you are literally surrounded by forest and trees.

We come across three beaches along the loop and they are all beautiful and isolated.

On the way home we pass by the two volcanoes that threaten the life of the locals in Tongariro National Park.

We also find the mountain that we ascended in the gondola (see arrow).

All in all a wonderful day.

  • Kilometers driven:  210
  • Hotel: The Park Ruapehu
  • Kilometers walked: 13.5

Events from this blog post occurred mid-March.  Our blog post run 10-12 weeks behind live events.  In our last blog post we had a long travel day in the car and ferry, but arrive safely at Wellington.