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Sign in with FacebookLatest Taupo (town) hotel reviews
al2401 Says: The Huka Falls are a series of waterfalls on the Waikato River whish flows from Lake Taupo. They are formed where the river narrows from 100 metres wide down to 15 metres. The huge volume of water is regulated by a hydro power scheme. The falls are a popular tourist site as...
stevemt Says: Some of the world's best trout fishing can be found in the Taupo District. Licences are required to fish and can be obtained from the Department of Conservation, the tourist information offices or various fishing and retail outlets. Driving round the lakes and over the...
salisbury3933 Says: We enjoyed our tour of the Prawn farm, but to be honest, the tour is a little pricy at $15, given that you only get one complementary prawn at the end of the tour. I did enjoy the tour, but I was tempted to put it in the tourist trap section.This facility was set up some...
salisbury3933 Says: This is an interesting place to learn about the volatile central North Island area, and its history of eruptions and earthquakes. There's not a lot to it, but it's still interesting. Worth a look for 40 minutes or so.
kiwi Says: Health spa facility, plenty to select from.Private spa pools as well as openair public pools and fun Dragon slide for the kids.Family changing rooms for mums and kids, and $1 lockers for putting valuables like cameras and car keys etc.Also a massage facility here too.
1 Review and 152 Opinions We arrived and were greeted by really nice, professional frontdesk staff and immediately felt...
Suncourt Hotel & Conference Centre
1 Review and 51 Opinions We didn't spend a lot of time here other than to sleep, but it looks like not too bad a place for...
All Seasons Holiday Park: Comfortable cabin
al2401 Says: All Seasons Holiday Park is more than a campground. It is a site for caravans, campervans as well as tents. It also has tourist flats and studio appartments with various levels of service. It is part of the Kiwi chain which my mother and I used on our NZ road trip. If you...
All Seasons Holiday Park: Very well presented and handy location
kiwi Says: The All Seasons Holiday Park caters for many needs. There are various motel units; Tent sites; very well laid out motor home / campervan parks with power points, and a lodge bunkhouse. Facilities such as kitchen and tv/games room, all well maintained. A small spa pool and...
Dixie Brown's: Nice and warm on a cold wet night
al2401 Says: It was a cold wet night so the restaurant was warm and friendly - also busy. Service was good. I had the Lamb Shank in a cranberry and rosemary jus which was delicious and so tender. My mother had a steak with mushroom sauce.
Prawn farm: Prawns, Prawns and more Prawns
salisbury3933 Says: This restaurant is attached to the prawn farm, and there are no prizes for guessing what this restaurant's specialty is. It's good, but not cheap.
Chill restaurant and bar: Good steaks!
salisbury3933 Says: We enjoyed the service and the food here, with the steaks being really quite excellent. It's next to the Suncourt motor lodge, and the food is of a high quality. It is a little expensive, but it's worth it.
Take A Break Café: Room to relax especially in cold weather.
kiwi Says: This Café is situated in the middle of the main shopping area, and although not outwardly stunning, I found it to have many attributes worthy of recommendation.Venture down the back part of the café and you will find more room, with lounge-like features. Taupo services the...
Villino Restaurant and Café.: Fancy a bit of Italian food?
kiwi Says: The food is Italian of course. The ambience is rustic with charm, and summertime sees the tables spill out onto the footpath. You almost feel like you are in Europe, but also reminded you are in Taupo, New Zealand, South Pacific. paradise!
Honey Hive: Honey and Fruit wines
salisbury3933 Says: The Honey Hive offers all kinds of honey products as well as fruit wines, and offers free tasting. I must have tried about ten different varieties. Well worth a look.
Kura Gallery: Quality local art.
kiwi Says: This shop is great for contemporary ethnic art. The items here are very attractive and authentic, and of very high quality. I like the jewellery, but you can find wall hangings, art, and all sorts of items for around the house.I highly recommend this shop. Well the good...
Woolworths Supermarket: Great place to buy food supplies.
kiwi Says: Everyone needs a supermarket for supplies, whatever they may be. This is a very interesting shop. Lots of variety and best of all, open 7 days a week 6.00am until midnight. Food, and most personal supplies for travellers. In fact because of the international population of...
An alternative to Rotorua is the “Hidden Valley” Orakei Korako, about 30 minutes drive north of Taupo town.
It truly is a hidden valley, the drive from Taupo taking you through rolling paddocks replete with sheep and deer farms, to a small valley. There is a visitor’s center/ gift shop, and a large carpark, and on arrival you may notice puffs of steam rising from the bush on the other side of the river.
A small boat ferries you across to the thermal area, where you are free to make your own way along the well kept boardwalks and well marked bush tracks to explore the area. (A rough map with descriptions/ explanations of the key features is available free at the visitor’s center.) You may take as long as you wish – providing you are back at the jetty in time for the last ferry (check times with the driver).
Thermal features include small geysers (unpredictable but frequent enough that you should have a chance to see at least one), hot springs, silica terraces and bubbling mud pools, as well as a beautiful cave pool with turquoise water. Look closely here and you’ll notice a moving memorial to two brothers killed in WW2, who grew up here.
There are several lookouts, and along the boardwalks and trails there are plenty of benches where you can rest or just sit and watch, or wait for an eruption. A rumbling sound – something between a boiling jug and a distant freight train – signals something is about to happen, so follow the sound to the nearest feature and get your camera ready. There might be a lot of steam before anything more happens, so be patient! You may also find the steam obscures your view for photography, but you should still be able to see the action, even if you don’t manage to bring home any good photos of an eruption!
I visited on a winter weekday when there were few other visitors and really enjoyed it, despite the rain (but if rain puts you off, NZ probably isn’t for you anyway!) It could have been “the land that time forgot” - at some moments it felt like all that was missing were dinosaurs, the landscape being so ancient and unreal. I don’t recall it being smelly, although I had expected it would be.
The ferry driver seems to keep an eye on the jetty, and will soon pop across to collect you when you are ready.
Adult entry (Sept 2010) was $NZ36 and includes the short ferry ride to the thermal area. Prices in the visitor’s centre/ gift shop were up to half the price in other tourist shops I visited in NZ. I bought a proper fleece jacket here for $NZ25 – less than the going rate for a souvenier T shirt in most other locations. There is also a café here with a sunny, enclosed eating area overlooking the lake, however I did not eat here so cannot comment on the food. I found the staff to be friendly and helpful, and I thought this was great value all round.
Updated Oct 1, 2010
Website: http://www.orakeikorako.co.nz
salisbury3933 Says: Quite spectacular are the Huka Falls. A must for anyone visiting Taupo.The Waikato river passes through a very narrow passage, meaning the volume of water going down the falls is quite remarkable.
Call at the Information Office.
kiwi Says: Always visit the Information Office of a town. Plenty of brochures, and information to be obtained in this office, and very good staff to ask personal questions.They can book you on the local activities, such as bungy jumping or jet boating. Or simply point you in the...
Visit Huka Falls. Just north...
kiwi Says: Visit Huka Falls. Just north of Taupo on the main highway, just turn off where the sign is. There is a whole bunch of water coming down the Waikato river and suddenly there is a small neck for it all to get through. So there is a section of raging rapids followed by a drop...
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Taupo - it's fun all year round.
Taupo is a town beside the lake's edge and situated in the middle of the North Island. Mostly a holiday town, it has a growing permanent population. This is a place that New Zealanders use as a...
I've been to Taupo plenty of times over the years, many times just passing through on my way North or South. Still, it's a nice place to stop and do things, and you can easily spend a couple of days...
Lake Taupo is an active volcano, yes it still smoulders but has not erupted for some time. The town of Taupo is on the lake shore. Taupo is a big holiday destination and tourist spot in New Zealand...
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Comments (1)
If you are coming to Taupo to walk the Tongariro Alpine Crossing just be aware part of the track is closed due to recent volcanic activity, but they are re-assessing daily.
The Crossing was reopened some time back, but for now it's an 'Out and Return' track, the part effected by eruption is still closed. Still well worth doing though.