Ashbrook Motel Taupo

After an exhilarating day sky diving we had a free day in Taupo in which I tried to convince Steph to do a bungy jump with no success. Originally we planned to do a walk today, the Tongariro Crossing in the national park which would involve walking up the volcano and across the crater. We are going to be doing a big walk in Franz Josef though so decided we wouldn't, but it was cancelled early in the morning anyway due to ...

... turbulent turquoise torrent throwing itself under the viewing platforms. Taupo itself has a friendlier feel than Rotorua - it's very much a tourist town attracting both Kiwi and overseas visitors thanks to efforts of the locals in recent years to boost it's appeal. Alas for us, much like Paihia was, it's beauty is somewhat lost in the overcast weather which was to hang around until our departure. The early promise of morning sunshine as we woke ...

... Transporter 3''. I'm not sure I cried as much during Schindlers List. <br><br>After a weekend of culture, some non thumb twiddling activity was needed the last day. Mountain biking in the Redwoods of Rotorua fitted the bill. We rented some wheels from Planet Bike &amp; hit the Whakarewarewa Forest ($45pp for the day). In a nutshell the runs were mental. I never knew whether I was going to be unseated or barely hang on. It wasn ...

... and Daniel on top bunks by 1 night. Unfortunately though neither team won overall. After the quiz we all headed to a different bar for the remainder of the night. 8th April 2009 Staying in Taupo for 2 nights meant we could have a lie in and not get up for the bus. Unfortunately the weather was not so good and Laura and Zoe had arranged to got to an outdoor adventure course, they decided to cancel and go shopping instead. We also all went for a walk by ...

... the legs feeling very heavy and certainly tired us out. We had a lovely couple of days in Nelson, the sun well and truly came out. We took a trip up the coast for a night to Kaiteriteri and went sea kayaking in the Tasman. We bravely hired the kayaks for 4 hours so we had plenty of time to lounge on some of the beautiful beaches around the coast. We even spotted a couple getting married ...

... we went for a walk to some waterfalls. This was advertised as a easy 2hr trip. This in the UK would mean grannies &amp; pushchairs going at 2mph would take 2hrs. New Zealand isn't like this, although the path was wide and clear it went up and down, was crazy hot (not the path but the weather) and took us reasonably fit people 2hrs and we barely stopped. Dinner included my first ever mung beans because Hannah is good ...

Lake Taupo was beautiful! We hiked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which is one of New Zealand's best one-day walks. The walk was about 11 miles. Following the hike we visited the natural hot springs and hung out at Lake Taupo for a bit. This town was one we could picture living in if we lived in New Zealand.<br><br>Rotorua was a geothermal area similar to Taupo. The town of ...

Hey-Ho,  How is everyone? We spent a couple of days in Taupo doing another extreme boat ride and viewing some of the sites. We went on Rapid Jet which I have to say was far better than the Shotover Jet. It actually went for longer, we were taken over some really rough water and it was also cheaper. Overall we all extremely enjoyed this ride. The also saw the Huka Falls which, though not high, was quite dramatic in the amount of water being pushed ...

... earmarked some of my time in Taupo for a sky dive. Don't ask me why! I just woke up one morning thinking it seemed like a good idea and it stayed with me. Before I came away I told people I was doing it because I figured the more people that knew, the less likely I was to bottle out! So the first thing I did once I'd done my shopping was book my jump. The next clear day was going to be Saturday, so I booked for 10am, on the understanding that if it the morning weather wasn ...

... world. The room that has a glass roof houses the biggest wine bottles I've ever seen that cost up to 6,000$!! We then went to a Mc Cafe before heading home, I ordered a moccachino and it was very good. But I have to say, avoid the foam/ froth that they put on top of the cofe. I find it very bitter. The cofe itself though was very nice. In the evening after supper me and mom went to a spa. We went to the Btrets to use their hop pools. It ...