Welcome to Taupo

We drove 50 miles south to Taupo on a Saturday morning to watch the Taupo Ironman and take a break from job searching in Rotorua. The drive into Taupo is stunning, as you see the three massive volcanoes of Tongariro National Park sitting neatly behind the equally impressive Lake Taupo. The views across the lake were so striking that we decided to stay in Taupo for a bit. Conveniently, all of our possessions live neatly in the van, so the only items left in our Rotorua hostel were two carrots and some milk. Taupo is smack dab in the middle of the North Island and it sits on a lake the size of Singapore, which was created by an enormous volcano eruption 1800 years ago. The eruption was so large – more than ten times the eruptions of Mount St. Helens and Krakatoa combined – the Romans and Chinese both documented dramatic changes in the skies which helped provide an exact date for the eruption of 186AD.

The huge influx of Ironman participants and fans from all over the world occupied all accommodations in Taupo, so we were forced to sleep in our van. We parked alongside four other campervans overlooking the lake and nestled in for the night. I woke up at 3am to a flashlight in the eyes. The city of Taupo employs a person to drive around to all desirable sleeping locations for campervan owners/renters and put a friendly notice on all illegally parked vehicles. No threats, no warnings – just a pleasant suggestion on better places to sleep. I took the notice to heart and went back to sleep.

We took a break from watching the Ironman on Saturday to quickly drive to Tongariro National Park (home to Mordor and Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings) and explore the volcanic area. We made it just in time for an amazing sunset and I was overwhelmed with a renewed excitement for our travels in NZ. We snapped a hundred photos of the scenery hoping to capture the beauty, but still feel we were unsuccessful.

We spent Sunday exploring more of Taupo and visited Huka Falls, Craters of the Moon thermal area, and the somewhat famous Prawn Park where you can spend an entire day fishing for giant shrimp with a fishing pole. We opted for the kill-a-prawn golf experience, where we tried to hit a golf ball into one of 4 hoops in hopes of winning a cash prize. No luck.

The Waikato River flows peacefully for several miles from Lake Taupo until it reaches roaring Huka Falls before continuing northwest to the Tasman Sea. Huka Falls is a violent 33 foot waterfall that appears much shorter because of its width and ferocious churning. The river is 200 feet wide in places and it is suddenly forced into a 25 foot wide rock-walled channel. The combination of the majestic blue water and the sheer force of the water had everyone mesmerized in silence. There is a popular kayaking spot upriver from the falls and I hoped to see a kayaker try to paddle through the falls from my distorted view upstream. As soon as we walked into full view and read the anatomy of the falls, I realized it would be a death wish to try and paddle it.

After two lazy but enjoyable days, we decided it was time to do something a little wilder. Taupo is unique for skydiving because it is the only place in NZ where you can jump from 15,000 feet, which is actually the highest jump you can do as a tandem skydive (the passenger is harnessed and attached to a skydive master/pilot). From 15,000 feet, you can see the curvature of the Earth and on a clear day you can see both of NZ’s coasts. It is a 60 second freefall with a 4 min canopy ride. Because of the consistently good weather there are three skydive companies here, and the price wars between them make for one of the cheapest skydives in NZ as well.
The sleek flyer for Skydive Taupo bragged that they’d pick us up in a limousine, let us choose our own music for our video, and offer us a beer upon landing. We’re not ones to pass up a ride in limo, so we booked it. The driver picked us up in front of the hostel in a white 1990s err…limo with the boomerang antenna half-heartedly attached with black electrical tape. We hopped into the torn and tattered seats and hoped the quality of the parachutes were a little higher than this. The driver gave us the spiel that it was much more likely that we’d get injured on the way to airport than during the skydive...
We arrived at the airport safely, so it looked like it was going to be a good day. They showed us a sample video of the skydive and, as expected, had us sign our lives away. They put us in jumpsuits and harnesses while we watched others land and walk back into the hangar with faces of exuberance, panic, or shock. Before we knew it, we climbed into a bright pink plane and took off for 15,000 feet.
The door opened and Rachel and her tandem master scooted towards the door. We looked at each other and communicated through an awkward smile: “I love you. Hope to see you on the ground. If not, good-bye.” And then she was gone. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, but I didn’t have long to think about it because in less than a second, I was sitting on the edge of the plane looking straight down. [They say you can see the curve of the Earth and both coasts from 15,000 feet, but the only thing I saw was the ground directly below me.] The first second of the freefall was the scariest part to me – I totally freaked out. There was absolute silence and weightlessness. It felt like I was falling all alone. A second later, the sound and feeling of the wind rushing by eased my nerves and I loved the rest. After 60 seconds, the tandem master pulled the parachute and we started a the scenic float back to Earth with amazing views of the lake, Tongariro National Park, and the surrounding countryside (at this point we were at 4000 feet, so it was too low to see anything else).
I looked over to see Rachel flying just 50 feet away and we yelled hello and gave an air hi-five. We made it safely to the ground and ran to give each other a hug. Rachel was laughing hysterically and this continued for about 20 more minutes. Rachel had to sit down several times once back in the hangar because she was laughing too hard. She was walking and shaking so nervously that the staff had to relocate Rachel outside because she was freaking out the customers who were waiting their turn to jump. In the end, it was an amazing experience and I think we’ll be doing it at least one more time…

We finished the day by walking to a natural hot spring that meets the cool waters of the Waikato River. We had a perfect view of the sun setting over the hills while soaking in the hot water.

Unlike Rotorua, searching for jobs in Taupo was much more fruitful and helped to restore our self-confidence. We had been rejected so many times in the previous weeks that we started to wonder if we’d ever find work in NZ. Rachel was offered a job as a waitress at one of the nicest restaurants in town on her first outing. Waterside is in the most vibrant part of town, and as the name indicates, it is right on the water overlooking the lake with a guaranteed beautiful sunset every night.

My job search lasted a little longer and I was put in charge of finding our home in Taupo for the next few months. We responded to a couple of ads on NZ’s version of Ebay and I visited a couple while Rachel was hard at work. The second place I went by was perched on a hill overlooking the lake and within walking distance to the town center. It was perfect. Jon and Amy invited us into their home for the extent of our stay in Taupo. They are a young couple with similar interests and we’ve already shared some great memories with them.

Rotorua

All driving directions in Rotorua begin with “you’ll smell it before you see it.” Rotorua is one of the most active geothermal areas in the world and it is littered with boiling mud pools, hot mineral baths, and cracks in the Earth spewing steam. All of these cracks allow the smell of sulphur to seep out from everywhere, so you truly do smell it before you see it. The countless water sources mixed with the year-round warmth provided by the geothermal activity made it a perfect place for a large group of Maori to settle and it is still strongly influenced by the Maori culture. It also has adventures around every corner.
We called a hostel and requested the “Steal Deal” package which included a pass to the Polynesian Spa (35 naturally heated mineral pools ranging from 97 to 110 degrees), a white water rafting trip down the Kaituna River (Maori for ‘Eel Food’) complete with a 23 foot waterfall – the biggest commercially run waterfall in the world, and a ticket up the Skyline Gondola with 5 rollercoaster-like luge rides down three different tracks ranging from a 1.5 mile scenic route to the screaming fast ½ mile long advanced course.
We expected to stay 3-4 days in Rotorua before heading to the Hawke’s Bay region to find work picking apples/grapes for a few weeks. However, after one day in Rotorua we decided to find work and stay for a few months. It is an active city on the shores of Lake Rotorua and is surrounded by beautiful parks and gardens and it seems to host at least one event or festival each weekend.
We woke up for our rafting trip to a drizzling morning. All of my prior rafting experience involved frigid waters from snow melt and the thought of rafting in the rain with freezing river water sounded miserable. We crossed our fingers that they would cancel the trip, but no such luck. The bus picked us up from the hostel and the bus driver/rafting guide soon relieved our biggest fear – the river was actually over 80 degrees thanks to warm lake the river flowed from. Once on the river, we looked forward to getting flipped out of the raft so we could float in the warm water.
We were given a quick 3 minute lesson on how to paddle and what to do in the likely event that the boat flipped over on one of the three waterfalls – a very encouraging start. The trip only lasted one hour, but it was a very intense hour filled with rapid after rapid. It concluded with a 23 foot waterfall that frequently flips even the best guides. Right before plummeting over the edge, our guide yelled for us to drop to the bottom of the raft and tuck our heads. Our boat was the first to go over and we made it successfully. We watched from below as each of the next four boats flipped over, sending the passengers literally flying in every direction. We had a good laugh as we helped rescue the passengers while they waited for their boat to turned right side up.

Rotorua was originally set up as a spa town due to the multitude of hot pools in the area, so the obvious activity after rafting was to head over to the Polynesian Spa to soak our cold and sore muscles in the hot mineral pools. We were greeted by a Korean man who was eager to practice his English and trivia skills by giving both Rachel and me 30 facts about our home state. We gradually worked our way from the coolest to hottest of the Spa’s 35 pools. Even the coolest pool was 97 degrees, so I frequently hit up the extravagant outdoor cold shower that was beautifully designed with red, green and blue stones in the wall.

We headed to the Skyline Gondola in the morning, where we took a Gondola up the side of a mountain and got a breathtaking view of the town, Lake Rotorua, and the surrounding mountains and forests. From the moment we arrived, people told us how much fun the luge rides in Rotorua and Queenstown were. All pictures of luging look incredibly unimpressive and ours are no different. Pictures make this activity look like a lame carnival ride, but it is the complete opposite. The luge ride is basically a motorless go-kart that follows a winding track down a mountain and it can easily reach speeds over 30mph. As with a couple things we’ve discovered in NZ- the thrill of the ride is paramount and safety is secondary. There were no guard rails and with lanes 4 times as wide as a luge, racing was not discouraged. Rachel and I had a blast and survived with little more than a minor case of whiplash from an overeager 12 year old at the finishing line.

The next week was spent searching for jobs and exploring the city and its surroundings. The recession has not really hit NZ yet, but the fear of it has caused hiring freezes and with no hopeful leads, we drove 50miles south to Taupo. Taupo has been our base for the past month and met some wonderful people and have had some amazing experiences.