mytravelbugbite

Once we had finished in Hobbiton we made the drive to Rotorua. This is a highly geothermally active city and the smell of sulphur lingers in the air. We parked centrally then set off for a walk past some of the main sights including some of the bubbling mud pools and along the banks of Lake Rotorua. The fact you can just stumble past all this whilst just taking a stroll around the city is pretty cool.

Our evening was spent at Fantail Valley glamping just outside the city. This place was amazing, surrounded by greenery we were treated to the sounds of the river and the birds to keep us company. It is completely off grid with no electricity or WiFi, although there is running water and a composting toilet that can be used. We had a swing in the hammock, sat in the wood fired hot tub for a bit and around the firepit as it got dark. It was paradise and I was gutted we were only staying for one night, booked through AirBnb here.

The next morning we had an early start to head for our first ParkRun of the trip. Our destination was Puarenge ParkRun which was totally unique as it traverses through a geothermally active area, running between marker posts to ensure you don’t get into any trouble. It was a really nice and friendly little double lollypop type course and a coffee and breakfast in a nearby cafe set us up well for out drive down to Taupo.

We arrived in Taupo before we were able to check in to our hotel so parked the car and walked along the shore of Lake Taupo into the city centre. Here we strolled around some of the shops, had an ice cream and stopped for a drink in a local bar. Our hotel was the VU Thermal Lodge. Our room turned out to be a small suite which had plenty of room and was really well equipped but the definite highlight was the tub that filled with naturally heated water pumped up from underground, so we spent some time chilling in this for the evening.

The next day we had pre booked our shuttles to complete the Tongariro Alpine crossing, which is often described as the best day walk in New Zealand. We woke up to a message that this had been cancelled due to the poor weather so there was no transport available meaning that the trail was essentially closed. This was a huge disappointment as it had been one of the activities I had most been looking forward to on our trip and unfortunately due to our tight schedule (and the fact it was Christmas Day the next day) we were unable to do it this trip.

Instead of the hike we had a lazy morning before booking to go jet boating through Rapids Jet along part of the Waikato River. We figured if we were going to get wet in the rain anyway then we had nothing to lose by getting even more wet during our activity. Our boat had 4 other tourists and our guide in it as we shot up and down the river with brief pauses to look at various features including some filming destinations. It was a whole load of fun and made up for the miserable weather, which provided us with a blasting face treatment when at top speed.

On our way back into the city we made a quick stop at Huka Falls which were particularly ferocious in the bad weather.

We had a quick pit stop at the hotel to get into some dry clothes before heading back into Taupo for a Christmas Eve dinner at The Steak House, Taupo, which was delicious and I can highly recommend.