Here in New Zealand, Labor Day is celebrated on the fourth Monday of October. We should get used to this, we usually celebrate Labor Day (both in the Philippines and Singapore) on May 1st. We took advantage of the long weekend and took a drive out to see the Great Lake at Taupo, which was a 4-hour drive from Wellington.
There are lots of things to do in Taupo, especially for the adventurous type: rafting, kayaking and even skydiving. Since we are travelling with an infant, our itinerary was very laid back. Those heavy outdoor activities will have to wait a couple more years. But having said that, our weekend was still interesting and allowed us to get to know NZ a little bit better.
Huka Falls and a walk about town
We arrived in Taupo just in time to quickly check-in at the hotel, and then we were off to explore. Our first stop was Huka Falls. This area was quite crowded with tourists. But the falls was amazing to look at! There are options to walk the hiking track to get to a hot spring, go mountain biking and even take a boat to get to the falls. We only managed to do half of the walking track before we turned back–much too tiring for me!
We just decided to get close to the lake and walk around the town before going for dinner.
Next day, we had a leisurely breakfast, enjoyed the view of from our hotel and gave Katie the highlight of her trip. Thankfully, the hotel had a heated pool, so there was no problem going for a swim in the morning.
And in the afternoon, we went to see the “Craters of the Moon” geothermal field. It’s a huge area with open steam vents and mudpools, like walking in an active volcano.
In the morning, before going back to Welly, we stopped by the Otumuheke Stream Spa Park. It’s a hot spring pool about 25 minutes from the town.
It was much too cold for us to try out the hot spring. But not for other travellers.
After this was our long drive back home. Overall, it was a relaxing weekend for all of us. We will definitely come back when Katie’s a bit older, because we want to try out some more of the outdoor activities in Taupo.
