NZ - Taupo

When we arrived back at the YHA we tried to book the spa – to soak our aching muscles - but unfortunately it was booked solid. So we changed clothes and off we went for the 1-hour drive to Taupo before we ceased up.

En route we stopped off along the road to take our final few snaps of “Mount Doom”, typically the sun was now out and almost no clouds in the sky.


The backside of the mountain...

On arrival in Taupo we booked into the Tiki Lodge that was advertised as having an outside spa. We’d heard great things about a lodge with a wonderful natural spring spa, but when we checked in, we discovered the spa wasn’t working and this wasn’t the place we were looking for.

So, in need of some relaxation, we then decided to hunt down the local hot springs. We finally found the place Sprokett & Heather had recommended, and just seeing this place got us excited and slightly more relaxed. We got changed in record time and then sat in the pool for about 2 hours, admiring the palm trees enclosing the area ;)



It was a much-needed dip in 45-degree natural spring water. Around the edge of the pool were ledges to sit on, with water jets shooting out for massaging. There were also mini-waterfalls that we could sit under and have the water cascade over our heads. The best bit was a platform attached to the side of the pool, submersed in water; we could lie back on our elbows so that the water just covered our bodies so we didn’t get cold. From the bottom of the platform there were water jets, giving great massages :D Heaven!!



With our skin getting all wrinkly and our stomachs growling at us we decided to get dinner. We asked a local for the nearest Chinese takeaway and ended up getting completely lost, and almost missed the sunset over the lake…

We then headed into the town centre and found a Chinese close to our hostel – this was enough food to feed a small army (and we didn’t even go large)! The “normal” size in the UK is only a third of the size of these babies. This was dinner, breakfast, lunch and dinner again ;)

Whilst we ate our feast on the balcony of the hostel, we remembered hearing about a comet in the sky (though when we asked at the Lake Tekapo observatory they said there were no comets due in the next 15 years or so!!) and we soon saw it – this was quite an amazing sight, though it was beginning to fade and with the city glow it wasn’t as bright and clear as we’d expected or hoped. We’d wished we’d remembered last night when outside the town by the mountain. Still, we got a good view whilst standing in the street in our PJs ;)