From Whakapapa village we drove to Taupo. It’s a small holiday town located next to the biggest lake in NZ also named Taupo. First we headed to Huka Falls. This big and blue waterfall is apparently the most visited attraction in Taupo. 

 From there we started walking along the river in look for natural hot pools. After walking for an hour we found a small hot stream that connected with the river. There were not so many people there so we tried to find a spot for ourselves. First we tried a spot a little bit upstream, but there the water was too hot and shallow. The best spot was just under the bridge where the stream and river met. We relaxed for a while and headed back to our car at Huka Falls parking lot. 

We heard that there was a free camping spot close by, on the other side of the river. We went to check that out and then went to have a lunch in the city. After lunch we had some spare time so we decided to go to see a geothermal park called ‘Craters of the moon’. It was a nice 45 minute walk around the park with steaming holes and mudpools. The weather was not so good. It was dripling a little at first and at one point we got a strong shower that left us soaked. 

Before heading to the campsite for the night we headed back to town to a local brewery, Crafty Trout. There we got in the middle of some company’s spring party. Strangely, the food in the brewery was better than the drinks.

The campsite was pretty good considering it was free of charge. It had decent toilets and soft grassy area for tents. Also in the morning the views from the river were beautiful. 

Next morning the sun was shining and it was going to be a warm day. We drove a bit outside of the city center to Acacia Bay to rent kayaks. We were just in time because the owner of the shop was about to leave. So we took the kayaks for half a day ( 40$ per kayak). Our plan was to paddle to see Maori rock carvings in a rock wall beside the lake. It was about 1,5 hour paddle from Acacia Bay to the spot. The day was really nice. In the beginning the wind made it a bit hard to paddle but it soon calmed down. The rock carvings were impressive. There was this huge carving of a face representing the first Maori in Taupo Area and next to it a statue of an lizard. The best thing was that we were the only ones there. We could just relax and flout with our kayaks and admire the carvings. When we were leaving a few other boats started to appear at the same place.