What a sensory overload we’ve had over the last couple of days…

Lake Taupo – we have a slightly extended stay due to the fact that our fridge needed replacing (joys of van life!) so we wander around the town exploring and having a truly fantastic flat white at Fusion Cafe, the lemon muffin was rather delicious too! Refuelled, we head up SH5 to Huka Falls. These falls are amazing. They are caused by the Waikato River normally 100m wide, being forced to narrow to just 15m wide as it passes through a hard volcanic canyon. This increases the flow pressure immensely, causing the water to burst out with great force as the gorge ends. The flow rate of water coming over Huka Falls is 200,000 ltrs a second and it would fill 5 Olympic swimming pools in just one minute! Both the noise and the variety of colours in the water are mesmerising. Totally LOVE them! Our camp for the night is at the Huka Honey Hive – where we have a cheeky Kapiti Hokey Pokey ice-cream as a treat!

Road to Rotorua – we start our day with a visit to Aratiatia rapids. In 1964 a dam was built to harness the power of the water flowing out of Lake Taupo. The rapids prior the the dam being built were similar to Huka Falls, but since the dam they are just a trickle – until they open the gates of the dam which they do 4 times a day. This then causes a torrent of water to come flooding downstream. It is a marvellous sight, if somewhat scary. It’s easy to see why there are so many warning signs here. After watching this spectacle, our next stop is a magical place. Hot Cold Stream – and yes, it does exactly what it say on the tin! It’s hard to tell from the photo just how magical this place. A hot stream to the left mixes with a cold stream from the right and in the middle – the perfect place to soak in the natural mineral waters. It is so relaxing watching the water flow and the steam gently rise.

Mud, mud, glorious mud – we are at the mud pools. It’s a place we’ve been to before (10 Years ago) and we are both so happy to see that it hasn’t changed at all. A huge area of gurgling, plopping, splatting, boiling mud. Oh the sight and smell of this place, just glorious! For the night, we are parked on the edge of Lake Okareka, where several baby ducklings tried to eat my toes!