OMG! We are in a Hilton! Total lifestyle shock but we embraced it. We even worked out in a gym and had a glorious evening of swimming and room service.
In the morning we visited Huka Falls and went tramping on the trails around it, and for lunch Paula finally got her sushi. She’s been patiently (somewhat) waiting for it since Auckland. Here’s the thing about sushi in NZ – it’s primarily a lunch thing. We kept making the mistake of attempting to get sushi for dinner and the restaurants were always closed. Craving now satisfied.
Lake Taupo is incredibly fun. All sports/All seasons. Skiing in winter, boating in summer. We rented kayaks and paddle boards and hung out with the baby black swans. We also rented a pontoon boat – super funs – and took it out to a cove with ancient Maori carvings, created in 1974. Harry brought his drone if you are wondering how we got that pic.
The Lake is actually a volcano, a SUPER VOLCANO! It’s responsible for the world’s two largest eruptions in recent times. On the plus side – those eruptions made a cool vacation spot. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen again anytime soon. We scooped up chunks of pumice that float on the lake and gave ourselves pedis on the boat. In the background you can see Mount Doom/Ngauruhoe.
Huka Falls
Hotel Living
Lake Living
General Taupo Hanging
On our drive south we stopped for white water rafting at the bottom of Lake Taupo. This may end up being one of the kids’ favorite experiences. [Here’s a thing I’ve realized about these three – they really trust us. They have no idea what is happening each day or what some activities involve or where we are going and they go with it. I don’t 100% trust Harry and me so I’m incredibly grateful that they do. Otherwise this trip would be very difficult.]
The guide kept handing them more clothes and gear. When they received helmets there was a little ? but they were cool. Our guide, Finnegan, was super adorable. He recently completed all 9 seasons of How I Met Your Mother and was very disappointed by the ending. We all were, Finn. We all were.
[Our now full time blogger, Ben Schechter, has painted a wonderful word picture of the experience.]
What a great trip all around!