Taupo: land of trout and falls.

After 10 days in Picton, it was time to head north.  On a very sunny Sunday the 14^th I set off for Wellington, just a hop, skip and a three-hour ferry ride across the Tasman Straight.

Where the ferry goes between the islands.

Half-way through the journey the brilliantly hot sunshine gave way for heavy clouds and, predictably, wind.  For you see, Wellington is known for its wind.  I’ve never been to Chicago, but despite it’s nickname (the windy city) I doubt it has anything on Wellington.  Winds of 60 km an hour hit the city about half of the days of the year.  I resigned myself to three days of wind-whipped hair.

Aaaaaaand I got it.

I spent Monday wrapping up some loose ends and exploring the waterfront (hair firmly ensconced under a hat), which was a little eventful.  On my walk from Oriental Parade to Evans Bay I witnessed a truck sideswiping a parked car, and a really bad argument between a couple.  It was a little scary.  Being alone, I didn’t know what to do – I was about to call 111 (the equivalent of 911) when they took off in their car.  I regret not confronting them and seeing if she was all right, but at the time I didn’t feel comfortable with that. 

How the rich in Wellington get from their car to the house.

The walkway along the water in downtown Wellington.

I didn't see a penguin here, but I did see a sign. :)

On Tuesday, I had the engagement that had brought me to Wellington in the first place – my interview with the University of Victoria’s Faculty of Education.  I say interview, but it was hardly the Q & A session I had envisaged.  I was but one of 10 applicants at the “assessment exercise” (as it was formally called). 

Under the watchful eyes of the directors of the program we basically had a discussion/debate about the most important qualities a teacher should possess.  It was interesting to hear different points of view from the other applicants.  I think I made some good arguments and came across well.  Unfortunately, I may not find out if I’ve been accepted until December 17^th, which is really late, given that classes start exactly a month later.  Sheesh.

The cable car that travels between downtown to the top of the botanic gardens.

In any case, though I really like Wellington, I expect that I’ll be spending a lot more time there in the coming year(s), so I didn’t linger.  The next morning I boarded a bus and seven hours later emerged blinking into the bright, hot Taupo sun.

Smack dab in the middle of the North Island, Lake Taupo measures an impressive 600 sq km, making it by far the largest lake in New Zealand (though it’s a mere pond when you compare it to the behemoths we have in North America). It is actually a water-filled crater of a super volcano that last erupted some 1800 years ago with spectacular results. It was such a massage blast that the ash it spewed forth darkened the sky halfway across the world – There are records of both the Egyptians and Chinese writing about the red sky around that time. It was very likely the biggest eruption in recorded history.

This picture sucks.  The day before there was aamzing views of the snow-capped volcanos in Tongariro National Park across the water, but my camera's batteries were dead.  Since then, the clouds have completely obscured them. Curses!

Sitting on the water’s edge, looking out at its smooth docility, it’s hard to imagine that Lake Taupo was ever capable of such cataclysmic doings.  Today it’s a resort town most known for its trout fishing (trout were introduced by humans some 120 years ago) and the nearby Huka Falls.

It was to those falls that I directed myself this morning. From the town centre, the falls are about an hour’s walk away.  And what a nice walk it was.  The path starts off in the evocatively-named Spa Thermal Park, next door to Taupo’s bungy spot (alas, though I waited ten minutes, no one took the literal plunge while I was there). 

An uninteresting bungy shot.

The park is thus named in honour of the hot spring that tinkles steamily into the much cooler Waikato River.  I’m constantly amazed and delighted by all this natural hot water spewing from the ground here.  It really is amazing to plunge your feet into what your brain is telling you should be icy wetness only to find yourself recoiling at unexpected near-scalding water. 

I lingered at the stream for a few minutes, relishing the warmth of the stream and experience science at work as the hot water of the stream met the cold water of the river – it was altogether bizarre to feel the cold water around my feet while at the same time my calves were roasting.

You can kind of see the steam rising from this stream.

The path winds its way along the western banks of the delightfully blue Waikato River to Huka Falls some 2.8 km away.  The river itself is deceptively placid for much of the way. 

The Waikato River looking oh so calm.

As with most kiwi rivers, the water is clear and clean, and it meanders along fairly calmly until all of a sudden it’s not so calm anymore.  The river suddenly narrows from some 40m or so to a mere 10m. This bottleneck causes the water to shoot out with a force that is, in a word, impressive.

The river gets a bit wilder...



...and then BOOM!

It’s hardly the tallest or the most beautiful waterfall in the country – frankly, it looks manmade.

 

According to the handy little signposts next to the falls, there are 200,000 litres of water that cascade over the 9m falls every second.  In the space of a minute, the falls could fill five Olympic sized swimming pools.  It’s no wonder that kiwis have capitalized on this awesome force to generate energy. The river supplies more than half of the North Island’s total energy needs and more than a third of the entire country’s.  That’s a lot of power.

So I’m here in Taupo for another day. And given that it’s rather crappy weather, I’m not planning much today – Internet, some errands in town, perhaps a bit of a walk.  Ho hum.  Tomorrow I’m off to Auckland where I’ll spend a chunk of time before leaving for Sydney.

The beach is littered with pumice stones – you know those things you buy to grate the dead skin and callouses off your feet? – which look like regular rocks, but are in fact incredibly light. 

They even float.