Day 6 - Huka Falls and Napier

Giving ourselves a little sleep-in we rose at 8am, and had breakfast at the hotel before doing some sight seeing around Taupo. We visited the nearby Huka Falls, apparently the most photographed natural wonder in NZ. 

The Falls are a stretch of the Waikato River that empties out of Lake Taupo. The river is funneled through roughly 100 metres of rapids, formed by narrow rock walls where the waters is whipped into a turbulent aqua foam - then falling 9 metres into the lower river where you can see more hues of blue and turquoise as the water disperses all of the air bubbles that it picked up in the rapids. The whole sight is an awesome spectacle as 200,00 litres of water falls over the falls every second.

After this we drove through the valley, taking in the beautiful surroundings before heading back to Taupo. We wanted to watch a '6D' movie that would simulate various extreme sport activities, such as sky diving, white water rafting and so on - thinking that this would be the closest Mum could get to doing the real thing (although, she did seem keen when looking at the rapid jet boat that was doing spins at the bottom of the Huka Falls, so who knows...).

Unfortunately the cinema was installing a new film which meant that the hydraulics all needed to be adjusted and the show would not be available till the next week. Bearing a sigh of relief we instead had a coffee and did some shopping instead, deciding we could leave earlier and get to Napier earlier than anticipated.

We left Taupo behind and took off for Napier and Hawkes Bay through the Waipunga Valley. It was a very scenic drive, through dense pine forests, winding mountain roads and the ever present toe-toe grass, traditionally used by the Maori for weaving. There were many wonderful mountain views and vistas on the drive. Mick said "wait for the South Island" indicating that the views still ahead of us would be even better.

Within 2 hrs we arrived in Napier known as the Art Deco town. The town suffered an earthquake in 1931, and was rebuilt in high Art Deco style which survives to this day. A beachside tourist town we noticed that it was very quiet, and also very hot! A nice slightly windy Taupo had made way for a sweltering Napier, without even a sea breeze to combat the heat.

After lunch we made a quick tour of the city centre, including the largest $2 store we have even been in, and looking at all the art deco facades, which have been cleverly integrated into the modern businesses that now use the buildings. Mick and I had a quick beer at a beachside pub, before heading down to the very pebbly beach (very uncomfortable on the feet... think those Swedish massage sandals) to dip our feet in. 

We made our way back to the hotel for a quick shower before heading out to a nice dinner at the heritage Masonic Emporium. 

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