Trip to Taupo, Part 1

Although we normally remain in the Wellington area, we have had a few opportunities to travel. This past week was a great one. The four couples doing Records Preservation in New Zealand (Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin) all traveled to Lake Taupo to a conference with our boss, and an expert Records guy from Salt Lake. So we took advantage of the weekend to go up early and meet with Cody, JoEllen and the kids.  We rented a house through Airbnb that fit all of us. It was great. We both traveled Friday afternoon and evening to get there. As you can see below, it was quite a visual experience getting there.

Saturday everyone awoke with great expectations for kayaking, hiking, hot pools and whatever other adventure we could find. We also awoke to cloudy skies, wind, and a high threat of rain. With that in mind, we opted for kayaks first, just in case weather worsened.  Luckily it didn't. But we have all learned that "warm" is a relative term, and "nice" is relative. Kayaking was done in about 60 degree weather, with long sleeve shirts and windbreakers plus life jackets. It was a blast. We flipped to see which two would have to remain on shore and go to the craft fair. Somehow that worked out to everyone's advantage and desire. 

 The next 2 shots were hiking down to some hot pools to soak and warm up.  

After a quick lunch, we headed to Huka Falls. Beautiful water. Lake Taupo, where we kayaked, feeds the Waikato River. These falls are just a few km (miles) downstream. 

This is one of the locations that use jet boats to see rivers and falls. It would have cost us all about $600 to ride together.

Next up: Rotorua