Day 130 - Taupo

I LOVED Taupo. Its nothing very special, but for 24 hours we laughed, cried, ate, and took photos. It was VERY special. After what seemed like a string of dissappointing days on the new zealand tourist trail, we had one last day to play with in the north island before heading down to Wellington to meet up with Phil.



We arrived just after dark and checked into our hostel. Then after sam was chatted up by a complete psycho (who reminded us both of Ady), we headed out for a curry to celebrate our mates Mango and Shilpa getting married. Cheers dudes.



Now, after that, we went back to our hotel room. This bit is a bit hard to explain, so stick with me. Right, so when we checked in, the hostel manager told us that the room might be noisy. But its OK, cos we looked like party animals. and would be up til 1am anyway. we accepted the room (because we couldn't be bothered to look elsewhere) and trotted outside for a drink. On our return, we got back to the room. Eve was first, I was second and sam was third. to walk into the room. to realise that the room was actually situated on top of the speakers of a nightclub. This room wasn't just loud. It was unbearable. The glass in the windows was vibrating from the bass. The curtains twitched with each cheer from the crowd. It was completely insane, and the pounding house music and club-classics continued until 3am. I can sleep through anything, but my body ached after just an hour of broken sleep, waking up at every record change when the DJ increased the volume and bass for the first part of the song. It was literally like trying to sleep INSIDE a nightclub. Insane.

Anyway, the next morning, bleary eyed and pissed off, we checked out, grabbed some coffee, and attempted to make the most of the day. We had 4 things to do. These were:

The Huka Falls
   Driving out of taupo, just for 5 minutes, and this place is a beaut. Its clean and green and has cute rolling hills and little streams. And we spotted a big river with literally CRYSTAL clear water from the roadside. Which later turned into this...







Huka Prawn Park
   I never really understand what a prawn farm was. until we went. too skint to pay for us to get in, we just wandere around and ate some big prawns. But by pumping geothermally heated water into pools with prawns in them, they breed lots, and you can fish for prawns, play prawn golf (wow!) and eat as many as you want - if you can afford to. This was a highlight of the trip - fact.







The Volcanic Activity Centre
   I dragged the girls here, and despite being totally rubbish, it did have a earthquake simulator. And man, they went to town with it. its a box that shakes from side to side, decked out with a single curtain to show the vibrations. Shocker. It was rubbish, but we laughed. Love volcanoes, don't i...











Crators of the Moon
   And for our final assault on taupo, we hit a small free park which has apparently looks like you are walking on the moon. when we arrived, we had to pay (i HATE that), and for the first 20 minutes I shouted my mouth off about how we had been ripped off because it looked NOTHING like the moon. Until we found the good stuff. And it was pretty special. All this was made by hot air. We loved it.









and with that, we jumped in the laser, and headed the 4 and half hours south to wellington, crossing the Tongaririo national park (home to 3 active volcanoes), and a shed load of tiny villages that all looked the same. Except for wellington...