Taupo, Waikato, New Zealand – 2 Day Trip

Leaving in the early morning from Wellington I had a long 7-hour bus ride to Taupo. Looking back it probably would have been better to hire a car and make the drive myself, stopping along the way. Instead, I took Intercity and since I booked so far in advance I only paid NZD 30.

I arrived at Lake Taupo around 15:00 and checked in to my hostel at YHA Taupo Finlay Jack’s Backpackers. The cost was NZD 45 per night for a private room shared bathroom, including 10% off with the YHA membership ($25/year) which I recommend getting if you’re staying in NZ for a while.

Day 1 – Lake Taupo 02.14.2020

I spent most of my time on the bus working so I didn’t have much energy to do anything else after arriving. I went through the town, checked out the famous Airplane McDonald’s, and tried to get a hole-in-one on the lake driving range. The Lake Taupo Hole in One Challenge costs NZD 15 to hit 15 golf balls onto a dock and if you get it in the whole you win NZD 10,000.

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Day 2 – Mountain Bike & Huka Falls 02.15.2020

The hostel I was staying at had mountain bikes for hire for the day at NZD 15. I decided I wanted to take a mountain bike trail to Huka Falls. This was my first time Mountain biking and unfortunately, I forgot to bring my Go Pro. To get to Huka Falls by mountain bike you take Spa Road to Spa Thermal Park, going to the end of Spa road by the Car Park there is the Rotary Ride and Waikato River Track.

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From the top of the track, there are a few lookouts over the river but most of the track is through the forest and doesn’t have many lookouts. The route took about an hour and then I arrived at Huka Falls. There are two good spots to take photos, the first is on the Huka Falls Bridge. Once you cross the bridge (From the mountain bike trail), turn right, and head down a path. There is no one at the end of this and gives a perfect view of Huka Falls (also you can see where the water changes color).

I biked further up Huka Falls Road and stopped at Kefi at the Hub, which is a café. After looking at a map for other things to do I gave up and biked down Wairakei Drive back to the hostel and called it a day.

In the morning I’m off to my last stop in New Zealand, Rotorua. Thanks for reading and liking my post, cheers!