Author: Grant and Barbara

A lovely day in countryside, surrounded by impressive mountains (volcanoes, one active), rural landscapes and Lake Taupo.

Taupo’s 27000 population soon disappears. The settlements are few and far between from Taupo onwards. National Park is a whopping metropolis of 240 folks, swelled be transient tourists – walking, skiing or just passing through.

Fishing seems a popular sport – river and lake. Something I’ve never tackled.

Tomorrow is a rest day in National Park. Quite a few are heading out to walk the ‘iconic’ Tongariro Crossing. Me, I’m heading for rest……

We’ve arrived at the geographical centre of the North Island, by the shores of Lake Taupo. Which is quite a mass of water – as might be expected as it’s filling a caldera. Stats – volume 59 km3, maximum depth 186m, 46km x33 km. By comparison, Loch Ness is 7.4 km3, maximum depth 230m, 36km x 2.7km. Might Nessie have a NZ relative?

Lake Taupo discharges into Waikato River, NZ’s longest river. This might explain the rapidity of the churning Huka Falls nearby – a hotspot for tourists and a diversion off today’s route.

The route followed alongside highways, sometimes on shadowing paths. Mainly not. The whole area is quite active – the Waiotaou geothermal pools bubble away in a mesmerising way, This geothermal resource has been used for more than 750 years by the Maoris – it translates as “Sacred Water”.

The Waikato geothermal power station appears – something to focus on other than the headwind! Cattle mosy along in a line to be milked somewhere: stopping to say “where are you going’?

Tomorrow to the simply named “National Park”: committee must have had a good lunch and couldn’t be arsed….

We were last here 5 years ago, though memories play tricks – the mudpools we saw then are about 18km away. Rest day I remind myself, rest day. Luckily there’s a lot to do from the doorstep.

There’s a wee public park with thermal pools bubbling away merrily. A reminder not to go in as it’s 100C, acidic or alkaline, H2S – why do people go to Spa’s I wonder? New Zealand gets about 17% of its electricity from geothermal activity, mainly along a line in the direction we’re cycling tomorrow to Taupo. A workman tells me they now have to reinject the water they’ve used – so even more sustainable.

That it’s an unstable area is brought home by the scaffolding over the heritage listed museum, built in 1908 as baths. Damaged in a 2016 earthquake and found not to be up to standard. It’s taken til this year to overcome the engineering design hurdles (aka finding money?) and will complete in 2027.

The landscape around Lake Rotorua is also frothy – though things are growing and birds active. Must have strong constiutions.

Rotorua itself is a tourist town, well built on a grid pattern and easy to get around. Lots of physical activity or remedial things. Curious about a no gangs here sign on a medical centre I went in and asked…..it means gangs in the sense we know it, and they were insignia to show who’s who. These have been banned in an effort to control them = the guy says they also don’t tend to bother any non-gang person. I left feeling relieved and hoping my German cap wasn’t the same as any local insignia.

All in all a good rest day. And learning Scotland tanked Australia at rugby was the icing……

One of the riders mentioned the birds here are a lot “quieter” than Australia. Tuneful too. We’re seeing a few but they ever stop still to take photos. So little colourful jobs they will remain for now.

New Zealand is home to about 25% of the world’s bird species.  It is also known as the world’s seabird capital, with over one-third of the world’s seabird species breeding in New Zealand or its surrounding waters.

There was also a conversation about NZ appearing “richer” than Australia. The facts are diffenent: Australia 1/3 higher income person. NZ is judged, wth health and social services, to have a better quality of life. Both are doing OK on average though like us there are great disparities.

Whilst I’m waffling, Amazon has a low presence here: they service demand via Australia.

To today, we skirted the outskirts of Tauranga near the start. It’s NZ’s 5th largest city pop 150000. Huge on world scale! A cycle path took us around the Bay and over/under the railway – and then the seeming forest of leylandii started – a local explained to me they are for sheltering the avocado and kiwi-fruit production,

Over 400 hectares of avocado trees planted, 85% in the Bay of Plenty where we are – and 2% of global production – stone me! The Chinese Gooseberry (it was changed to Kiwifruit in 1959) has 14500 hectares of production – 80% in the Bay of Plenty. Explains the scale of the well manicured wind- breaks.

The gravel section was fun – revealing some old fashioned pastures. This reappeared in a complete change of lanscape as we move inland – almost like the Yorkshire Wolds. Even the wild roadside flowers – clover, foxgloves, daisy and dandelion(like). The smell of honeysuckle is all around – sweeter than Australia’s road kill aroma.

The last section into Rotorua was hard shoulder or path alongside the noisy highway. Entering proper tourist area – to be explored on tomorrow’s rest day….