Sunday, May 10, 2015

Taupo, Huka Falls and a Sail

Today I am in Taupo NZ. I got up early and headed out on my bike. What a pleasure riding my bike without the heavy bags on it. After a quick coffee stop I headed out to see Huka Falls. It was about a ten mile ride to get there and see the nice falls. Then I rode a bike trail for about 40 miles before heading back into town for a shower. I was drenched in sweat.

I still felt like doing something so I found a lake cruise run by the owner of my hostel. It was only $25 for a three hour cruise in his sailboat. There were three girls and myself as passengers. The two French girls that sat up in the bow for the entire trip were pretty tough. They got drenched with cold spray yet refused to move to a drier area and refused warmer clothes or any help what so ever. I was impressed with their tenacity. I sat back in the stern and stayed nice and dry. The ride was perfect with just the right amount of wind to get us going well but not so much that we were fighting swells.

We cruised around looking at the fall colors along the shore and then went to see some Maori stone carvings. The carvings were done fairly recently not hundreds of years ago but they were done by Maoris in their own style as a gift to the city of Taupo. The story goes that the carvers were into using mind altering drugs to help them connect with their ancestors and carve in the traditional manner.

I enjoyed the cruise and the company. I will have to watch for things like this more in the future. Here are some pics