Flag Inn Baycrest Lodge Taupo

... lbs trout &#8211; shame I didn&#8217;t have my rod!!<br><br>Left here at around 4:45 PM and headed for Orakei Korako Thermal park but it closes at 5:30 PM, so we may go back tomorrow. Stopped in a Holiday park called All Seasons tonight and we are heading into Taupo to celebrate Bronwens birthday. All in all a brilliant day and the weather was really good today as well &#8211; BONUS!!!<br><br>Distance Travelled today &#8211; 103 km. Total Distance travelled 3102 Km.

... only German policeman in New Zealand. He gave us a warning and let us off without a fine for going around seventeen kilometres per hour over the speed limit. Luck was on our side.<br><br>The necessary swiftness of our trip actually proved to be beneficial. It gave us no time to reflect on what we were about to do. This meant I wasn't even slightly nervous when we arrived at the airstrip with ten minutes to spare. Now, I am certainly not a brave person by any means ...

... change our booking on the Kiwi Bus, because we might lose a slot at a stop further down the line. But it looks like it will be ok, as long as there isn't a repeat of this morning. Seriously, imagine waiting for the bus to come at 6:00 AM. The bus pulls in front of the hostel... The driver runs in...we all get up to go.... And he then waves his hands: "Don't bother, it's off, cancelled, it's snowing and blowing, its done." I wanted to ...

... I'm chilling to Taupo waiting for Laim and Alexa to get back, pretty excited to see the little guy. Going to hang out for a few days and get a ride with them in their rental car back to Auckland to meet up with Sean again (he went north to 90 mile beach on the Kiwi bus) and start our southbound Kiwi bus treck. Good times and a few more hangover to come, im sure. Let the good times roll!

Like Rotorua, Taupo is a lake front town, however, Lake Taupo is massive claiming the title of NZ's largest lake. Since it's a fairly popular tourist destination, you will find every thrill seeking activity from skydiving to bungy jumping over Waikato river (largest river in NZ). We spent much of the day walking around ...

... friendly and playful, but we still backed off pretty sharpish. After spending about half an hour splashing and running, we had to drag ourselves away as we had the ferry to the North island booked for only a few hours time. We left with MANY a photo and massive grins. A 3 hour slightly rough crossing later we were back on the road, we decided to skip the capital, Wellington, for our return trip. So our first stop in a town was Napier, a small town that was ...

... a cold shower and a hot water spa. Our skin afterwards was glowing! I loved that it was outdoor and natural and the whole complex was pretty awesome - like the top of a volcano. As we left Rotorua for Taupo, we stopped to see a pool of violently bubbling mud and then at a confluence where a hot and cold river meets, and we all jumped in for a swim - very nice and free! Before we reahced Taupo we stopped at the Huka Falls, which is where the Waikato river flows ...

... ook niet na het zien van de DVD die ze voor 100 dollar wel van je willen maken (nou nee, bedankt) en ook niet toen ik vervolgens een half uurtje wachten moest omdat het vliegtuigje net vertrokken was. <br><br>Terwijl ik buiten zat te roken, kwam een van de Skydive Boys naar me toe en stelde zich voor als Volker. Volker zou mijn instructeur voor die ochtend zijn. Hij scande mij eens van top tot teen en schudde toen zijn hoofd... Mijn schoenen. In het hostel hadden ze ...