Taupo & the Craters of the Moon

We had a good 5 hour drive up to Lake Taupo, pretty much in the centre of NZ's North island. Driving north of Wellington, it is striking how much more it is populated that the South island. The strangest thing is that the countryside suddenly becomes just like the home counties - gently rolling hills with green grass and English-looking trees, with sheep and hedges and you could be on the A404 driving through Oxfordshire. All of a sudden the mountains start to appear but these mountains are Volcanic and we started to enter one of the world's most active volcanic regions. We passed two volcanoes and were struck by how beautiful they were and how different to normal mountains. The second - Mount Ruapehu - is just the epitome of what a classic volcano should look like, but covered with snow. Just stunning.

Mount Ruapehu
Finally we got to Lake Taupo, a pretty lake in the shadow of the volcanoes, and made a stop at a nearby attraction: The Craters of the Moon. This whole area is a big geothermal field where the heat in the Earth is desperately trying to get out and does so in the form of sending heat rising to the surface causing these incredible areas where steam literally seeps out of the ground, plus geysers, mud pools and a variety of bonkers sights. 

Mud, mud, glorious (hot, bubbling) mud


The Craters of the Moon is an area with steam seeping out of the ground and, along with the slightly sulphurous smell, qualifies as an eerie and dramatic landscape. Small craters just appear and it looks like the area is shrouded in cloud. It's really quite something.

  Back at the campsite we enjoyed a dip in the thermal pool - about 35 degrees - which is a nice feature most places have to offer because of the thermal stuff going on everywhere.