This morning we said goodbye to Bill who
runs the Bay View quirky campsite we stayed at for 3 nights (after only
planning on one, maybe two) and it was like we were saying goodbye to a long
lost friend. What a nice guy he is. We told him we definitely wouldn’t be back
tonight and, to prove it we headed straight off on the SH5 ‘Thermal Scenic
Highway’ to Taupo and Tongariro.
Views on the 'Thermal Scenic Highway' |
It’s a pretty route, but no cell phone
coverage, just as I needed it while waiting for a phone call from Doctor Gordon
Miller about my next surgery appointment (note to self: try and stay brave!).
Got to Taupo, found a Medical Centre and had my stitches out. Tried to be
casual about it, but found myself feeling faint so had to lie down (how
pathetic is that!). Anyway, that’s over, but then got the call, appointment
with new consultant next Monday, surgery 7th May. Cost: NZ$1800 (!)
Hope the insurance covers it! Second note to self: put the ‘OMG’ to the back of
my mind!
Anyway, had a look at Lake Taupo, but
didn’t get the perfect picture of the volcanos in the Tongariro National Park
perfectly reflected in the lake. The photo below was the nearest we got, we’ll
just have to imagine what it may look like. Lake Taupo is NZ’s largest lake at
616sq km and 185m deep and is the crater of a huge volcano that last erupted in
186 AD, when it spewed out 10 times more rock and ash than was produced by
Krakatoa and Mount St Helen’s combined, sending ash clouds around the world.
Apparently the Chinese noted a blackening of the sky and Romans recorded that
the heaven’s turned blood-red. It’s a beautiful tranquil scene today and the
whole area is full of action packed thrills from Parascending to jet boating
and white water rafting, plus loads of great walking and scenery.
The volcano's of Tongariro National Park 'reflected' in Lake Taupo |
Lake Taupo - that's one big crater! |
Smoking Mount Tongariro |
A nice hilly scene that could be anywhere, but with the addition
of big craters with billowing smoke! The lady running the campsite we’re staying
at in Turangi told us how she was woken up by a huge bang one night in 2011 (I
think she said), followed by a loud rumbling that went on for a long time. How
bizarre to be living so close to so many unstable volcano’s, but she wasn’t
phased by the whole thing, it’s just how they all lead their lives. Mount
Ruapehu, the biggest volcano in the park, has been unstable recently and the
feeling is it will go up again sometime (last eruption in 1997) and if it does
she said to spare a thought for her having to clean the flat roofs of the 96
cabins she has on this site! A nice attitude to have, not that she might die,
just that it might cause her a lot more work!
Three legged 'Pod' |
Jackie was delighted to find this camp as
they have three cats, two of which a very friendly and want lots of fuss from
her. The one, ‘Pod’ was a feral cat that came to them years ago with a really
bad leg that had to be removed, so it hops around on three legs, but has a
really nice nature and is obviously very healthy and happy. Jackie’s in cat
heaven!
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