Day Tripping to Great Lake Taupo

Just under 2hrs drive from Napier is Great Lake Taupo. We’re heading there today to see the ancient Maori carvings and maybe enjoy a little fishing. We traveled here a couple of days earlier and the wind and waves were so high that all the boat charters to the carvings were canceled. Hopefully today the weather will cooperate and we can take the tour.

Since we couldn’t go out on the lake, we managed to squeeze in a trip to Taupo Huka Falls. Something like a billion gallons of water flows over these falls every second….maybe a little less but a hell of a lot of water flows over these falls.

Meanwhile, back at the lake…..We decided to take a 90 minute cruise that included some discussion on the history of the lake in addition to the Maori carvings and ends with a fishing demonstration. They call it a demonstration so we don’t need fishing licenses.

The carvings were created by Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell and John Randall in the 1970’s (guess these aren’t ancient) depicting Ngatoroirangi, a navigator who guided tribes to the Taupo area over a thousand years ago (according to legend). The likeness is supposed to protect the lake from further eruptions from the volcano, its working so far. Personally, I think this was a tourist industry coup now that over 100 boats a day visit the carvings, and at $45/person, not a bad source of revenue! Regardless, this is one of the highlights of Lake Taupo so we’re off.

Beautiful day, virtually no wind and the lake is like glass! Perfect day for viewing the carvings and spending a little time cruising around, hell maybe even catch a fish or two. Soon after we boarded Collette started to reminisce about her Navy days and took over the helm.

We reached the carvings in Mine Bay and they are pretty impressive. The main carving of the navigator is a little over 30’ tall and about 20’ wide carved into the rock face. There are also several smaller carvings of faces, animals and a large alligator next to the main carving.

Ngatoroirangi, the navigator

Did the viewing thing and had to get out of the way so the other boats could let their 30-40 passengers take pictures of the carvings. Heading back to our berth, it was time for a little fishing.  Gerard, the owner of the B&B where we are staying, said this lake has so many fish, they jump into your boat! Well, after about 20 minutes of dragging a lure around, the captain decided to call it a day and we went in. Guess they have the same amount of luck that I have.

Anyway, good day and enjoyed being on the lake.