A wise man once said “There is no better way to start your day than with a hot bath in a natural hot spring.” That wise man was Liam... last week. Thinking about it, it may have been worded slightly differently but you get the gist. Anyway, after enjoying our first visit to the Spa Park Hot Pools so much on the day that we walked to Huka Falls, we thought we’d return the next morning for a second go. It’s just too nice a place to only visit once. The waters of Otumuheke stream (where the hot pools are) were once a sacred place of gathering and healing for the locals. In fact, we noticed that Liam’s recently-shortened (we’ll spare the gory details) toe was healing fast after being exposed to the mystical water.
“Although the water burnt a bit, it was clearly fighting the infected wound well - let’s hope people don’t still use this water to cook...”
That’s not a nice thought, so we’ll move on; we had plans for the day and being already in a geothermally actice area, it made sense to check out some of the local ‘hot spots’... see what we did there... there are many around, and if you’re thinking that geysers, hot springs, mud pools and fumeroles aren’t your cup of tea, it may just be worth giving them a go and perhaps you’ll change your opinion like we did - you won’t have to spend a fortune for these either. There’s a mixture of both paid, and free activities around the Taupo region, all slightly unique from eachother. Here’s a few: (prices pp)
Wairakei Natural Thermal Valley ($10) - 1.8km walk, around mud pools and silica formations.
Craters Of The Moon ($8) - 2.7km perimiter loop between steam vents and bubbling pools.
Orakei Korako ($39) – A giant piece of land with lots of different steamy attractions. “Arguably the best thermal area left in New Zealand’’ - Lonely Planet 2018.
These are three of the most popular attractions in the area. From this list we chose ‘Craters Of The Moon’... As you can see, it’s the cheapest of the three so that probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you, but it was also on the way to our next campsite. The carpark is super easy to find (even for Sabina) thanks to google maps, and it’s open every day from 08.30 to 18.00 in the Summer and until 17.00 in the Winter, tickets at the entrance/starting point.
Just a few metres in and we already felt like we were in a very different environment. The ground is baked in most places from the intense heat of the magma below, and from the start there is a good view of the surrounding area. Looking out over the craters you can see steam pouring out of the ground everywhere, it’s pretty exciting but of course, as you are making your way through, it get’s better.
The walk should take around 40 minutes but there is no time limit, and don’t worry if the weather isn’t brilliant, because less people means better photos. We we’re quite lucky to visit on a day where there were not many visitors at all, and the cold air made the steam even more spectacular. At the end of the track is an ‘extension walk’ that will take you up a short hill to look over the whole area. Due to Liam’s injury we had to skip this part of the track but still had a great time just walking around the rest of the area - we had to tell ourselves that it was okay because we had seen all the craters up close anyway...
We actually had some light showers during our visit... they caught us by surprise so we were thankful to have our raincoats in the bags. It was one of the many times the weather has changed unexpectedly since we’ve been here, and served as a reminder to always be prepared for the weather. Once again though, the conditions complimented the scenery and added to the place’s atmosphere. Our timing was pretty good too... we just about got through our lunch in between the rainfalls, and as we were leaving it started again, only this time much heavier. Thinking about it, if Liam hadn’t had to miss out on the extension track, we’d have been caught out there.
“Obviously the real reason I chose not to go to the viewpoint was because I knew it was about to rain, not because my toe hurt...” "Obviously this is a big fat lie ... on the other hand, I am glad we made it under the roof just as the heavy rain started."
Even without going to the viewpoint, we had a nice time walking around the tracks, admiring the craters and vents created by the volcanic activity. It’s an easy way to spend an hour and we’ve got some good photos and memories from the experience... these type of features are just not something you see every day.
For the night we chose to stay at Mangakino Recreation Reserve on Lake Maraetai. Once again, it’s a free campsite and although man-made, it’s gorgeous. The lake was formed as part of a hydro-electricity scheme on the Waikato River but standing at the edge, there is no sign that it’s man made. If you happen to be in the area, it’s a really nice place to stay for a night and you’ll wake up with a beautiful view over the water. Did we mention it has a free BBQ under a shelter too?... great for a rainy day camping.
Also at the lake is the Bus Stop Café, an old campervan that has been converted into a café, serving good coffee and some tasty food too. We went there for a late lunch and loved it. The rain was still pretty full-on at this time though so after the coffee we retreated back to the car to sit out the rest of the rain and catch up on some writing. It would have been a really nice place to camp if the weather was better, but nevertheless, it’s good to know that there is still places to go and things to do when it’s wet outside... even if that means going to the moon.
---The giants---
The rain cleared up by morning and we had no plans for sitting around all day doing nothing while the weather was still being kind. We were confident we’d find a place to go or an activity to do last minute, but this is something we’re usually not too good at. More often than not, we have our days planned down to a tee, with an almost exhaustive itinerary that includes such things as ‘the cheapest nearby car-park’, ‘points of interest’ and ‘where and when we have time to eat’ for example - this includes adjusting the shopping list days prior so that we have the right food to prepare the night before... you could definitely say we put a lot of time into our planning (or at least Sabina does). Saturday was different. Saturday was more of a ‘Liam planned it’ day... in other words, we had no plan.
"In different words this is going to be an extremely chaotic day"
We did have a back-up plan though. Also known as the ‘Campermate’ app, we picked the nearest point of interest from a map and left for it right after breakfast. This is a good failsafe option if you don’t manage to organise something in advance and has worked out for us in the past. Twenty minutes down the road was the ‘Poukani Totara Tree Walk”. It looked really interesting on the app but we were disappointed when we arrived. First appearances gave the impression that the track was no longer maintained, and the overgrown entrance, hidden behind a dated-looking sign was blocked by fallen trees. For a moment we thought we were in the wrong place and even considered leaving but remembered to never judge a book by it’s cover and headed in.
We’re glad we did. The track is a little overgrown, and the path is pretty narrow but it gives you the feeling of walking through the jungle. The forest is dense and packed with interesting trees and plants, blocking out lots of the sunlight and creating a slightly tropical atmosphere. This one’s not a loop and takes around twenty minutes to walk each way. There were a few points when we were sure we had reached the end, so don’t be fooled by the enormous trees you’ll see part way through.
Luckily we enjoyed the walk so much that we kept walking regardless and eventually after climbing over some fallen trees, we reached the biggest Totara tree in New Zealand. At this point it was pretty obvious we had reached the end of the track. It took 1800 years for it to grow and made the other trees around look like twigs. Mauri once used these trees to craft their canoes... well this one looked like it could make a cruise ship.
If you happen to be in the area, it’s an interesting activity. We had a really good time on this authentic walk, admiring the lianas and climbing over fallen trees. For us, one walk wasn’t enough and we went to see more of the giants straight after. If you drive another 20 minutes to one of the starting points of the Timber Trail (Pureora Village Timber Trail Car Park), there is another Totara Walk, a 1 km loop through the Pureora Forest. This one is much easier and even suitable for wheelchairs, buggies and people that complain about their toe hurting.
Throughout the walk you can see more of the famously big trees, such as totara, rimu and kahikatea. The loop is filled with many informative boards not only about the trees but also local insects, birds and bats. If you are lucky, you can see some of the native birds and if not, you will definitely hear them anyway. The info boards are good to read and we learnt some interesting facts about the local wildlife, which we then forgot almost immediately.
Totara walk is not one of the highlights of New Zealand and if we would have to choose, the Poukani Totara Tree walk would be the one that we would recommend. On the other hand, if you have some extra time, this super easy walk is a pleasant way to spend an hour, and of course it’s free, proving the that you don’t always have to plan far in advance to have an amazing day in New Zealand.
Up next: From Mangakino to Rotorua
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