Meandering to Taupo - Night 49

The Magic bus departed promptly at 9 am this morning. Our final destination for the day was Taupo, only 100 kilometers to the south. We would, however, not arrive until the middle of the afternoon, as many ancillary activities were on the schedule for the day. The first stop was the Lady Knox Geyser. A natural geyser that erupts once every 24 to 30 hours (depending on barometric pressure, humidity and nine other things known only to geologists), the Lady Knox is force-fed a large chunk of soap every day at 10:15 to coax an eruption out of her for the numerous tour busses that make the stop on their way up or down the spine of New Zealand’s North Island. Why soap you ask? The soap breaks the surface tension of the upper chamber of water, thus allowing the lower, hotter chamber to force its way to the surface. The eruption, lasting about five minutes, was as expected – entirely anti-climatic.

Wai Te Pu Hot Pools

Our next port of call was the Wai Te Pu geothermal visitor’s center. For $25 one can visit a small museum and walk amongst some active hot springs. Lefty, our driver, also suggested that those of us a little more adventurous (and sick of geothermal museums) can hike a few minutes for a free dip in a swimming hole. Six of us quickly changed into our swimmers and marched off. The posse consisted of James (a Brit), Karen from Montreal (who has been traveling for almost two years), an Israeli guy (name unknown) and two Dutch girls (names withheld for diplomatic reasons). The swimming hole was located at the convergence of two streams, one heated by a volcanic vent, one not. Returning the bus we discovered the museum was a rip-off, all the while grinning because our swim was more than worth the price of admission.

An hour later Lefty pulled the bus in the

Rock n Ropes Park

Rock and Ropes adventure grounds. Basically a playground on steroids, the Rock and Ropes allowed visitors to jump off things while tethered up, for a nominal price. Just another tourist trap that I avoided; though I did offer my services as cameraman for a few of the folks who engaged the giant swing ride. Next stop was Huka Falls, an elongated falls that James and I decided would be dangerous, but ‘incredibly wicked’ (his words, not mine) to kayak down. An attempt at such foolish bravado was not made.

Huka Falls

We pulled into Taupo around 2pm and headed

Taupo Bungy

to the Taupo Bungy and Café. A strange combination, but one that works as most people just come to watch courageous friends throw themselves off a 43 meter high platform above the Taupo River. James the aforementioned Brit, and Jaycee, a Canadian lass from Saskatoon, willfully coughed up the $100 to jump off the cliff. I was very tempted to do it, but having promised myself that I would wait until Queenstown (the birthplace of bungy) I remained steadfast. Strangely, I met a guy from Madison at the Café. Small world.

My accommodation for the next two nights was the Taupo Downunder YHA. Most of my bus was staying there as well. We spent the evening going over photos and preparing for our big hike tomorrow: the Tongariro Crossing. I met a guy from Vancouver BC in the kitchen who had done the hike today and said that being from the Pacific Northwest I would have no problem with the crossing. In fact, he thought I would find it a bit easy and that it could probably be done in 5 hours, sans side hikes, if necessary, not the 8 hours they recommend. It was early to bed as the bus left for the mountain at 5:40am the next morning.

What I Learned Today: Traveling can be a bit like life in a microcosm. You meet wonderful people, you get on well, and then you part ways. In life this takes years, generally about three to four (think high school, college, your average time at one job), but in traveling it is all compressed into a few short days. A more sentimental person might consider this to be tragic, but I’ve come to accept it as fact. Enjoy your time together, try to learn something, gather some contact information, and part ways….each of you on your own adventure.

written by

exumenius on November 28, 2007 from Taupo, New Zealand

from the travel blog: Kiwis and Kangaroos

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