Taupo to Lake Whakamaru to Tauranga

Great Lake Trail

Taupo has never floated my kayak so to speak and indeed it still hasn't, however our 2 days here has altered my perception with warm balmy weather, good riding and plenty of scenic highlights. The Great Lake Trail is flat & smooth, a pleasure to cycle. There is still a fair portion of the country on holiday so not feeling overly conspicuous with our leisurely pace. We stayed at the NZMCA park which is generously proportioned (tons of room) and enjoyed a relaxing sundown with very modest amounts of food and alcohol, having eaten our main meal on the lakeside before our ride earlier in the day.

Wednesday dawned hot and fine which is a hallmark of our time on the road to date.
We drove to Spa Park Taupo with the intention of riding to the Huka Falls, onto Arataia Rapids. The ride, initially, to the falls is a grade 2, and Doc frowns on bikes on the walkway thus the cycleway was enjoyable for me but a little hardass for S. The Huka Falls are never disappointing, however the ride on to the Rapids was not an easy option so returned to the park and drove on to the rapids via the GeoThermal steamfields lookout. For me very interesting, S could see room for improvement, and who was responsible for cleaning those pipes, they should try a magicloth!!

Huka Falls

The Arataia rapids were a new one on me surprisingly, as the kids will attest to, having TikiToured every goddamn inch of this country, well there is still a lot to see.

Before Spill

After Spill

The rapids were bypassed to form another hydroplant on the Waikato but due to public outcry, what we would now know as the resousce act requires the power company to release water regularly, to keep the falls alive over the 500m stretch. The water is spilled 4 times during the day and is truly worth the wait, I liked it so much we stayed for two spills, interspersed with lunch ,a ride, a swim and a little litter collection at a beautiful camping spot that some of the country's youth seem to appreciate (why else would they be there??) but seem to think that it is ok to trash!! Moving on, the second spill was as good as the first and have a zillion photos and video to bore any one who cares to ask.

After Spill

Onto Lake Wakamaru, a flooded section of the Waikato River and a luverly camp stretching about a km along its banks amongst tall plantation pines. Possibly 30 other campers (tenting etc) several boats lots of kids and plenty of room. Neighbours were 150m either side so not to boxed in. The lake is weedy along the edges and testimony to our failed pest control measures, the freshwater carp introduced by  the Waikato farmers to eradicate weed in their waterways has successfully spread through out the Waikato filling the lakes with goldfish beating out the native fish. All is not lost however for as we kayaked around the lake we managed to sneak up on many trout congregating at the fresh water streams leading into the lake. Possibly 30 or so at one and 10 -15 at another, some well worth catching but with the weed not sure how you would go about snaring them, legally??!!.

The other interesting trait along the shoreline is the pumice stone. It is thick on all the shores, big and small, and the pumice sand in the shallows swirls round for a long time before languidly settling, after being disturbed. This is not good in your sandals.
The pumice is great for scrubbing the BBQ plate and have filled my trailer (very lite) to hawk off round the country and  for unsolicited gifts. I know.. you're excited ..............

The drive thru to Tokoroa from Mangakino has in my memory always been heavily forested, but with recent logging the whole nature of the country is altered, back to what it probably was prior to the 60s I guess. Dairy conversions are also changing the face of country with forestry being converted after logging. The big machinery and soft volcanic soils make for short work of turning stump filled landscape into river polluting green dairy fields. Diesel prices are variable round the area with Napier being 10c more than the outlying districts north and south, and in Papamoa Gull self service 20c cheaper at 86c!!