Tama Lakes

 

Lower Tama Lake

Me at Upper Tama Lake, Mt Ngaruahoe in the background

Taranaki Falls

The Scout and I have just come back from a few days break away.  We stayed and Taupo, which is a rather chilly place in winter.  A lot of reading, some walking and hand sewing was done by me.

Probably the highlight of my break was a trip down to National Park in the centre of the North Island.  This is the major ski area of the North Island, and still an active volcanic field.

We are not skiers, but chose to do the Tama Lakes hiking track, returning back to our vehicle via the Taranaki Falls track.  Thankfully it was the most beautifully fine day, if rather cold.  I had all the thermal layers on.  The return trip is about 18 km, 5-6 hours walking, depending on fitness and how many times you stop to take photos.

It was icy, very windy in places, the plant life was very different to what I expected too.  There was low level snow in places, and icy parts of the track to navigate.  The final 1.4 km from lower Tama Lake up to the Upper Tama Lake was hard work, but oh so worth it when I got there, with picture perfect views of Mt Ngaruahoe.

The walk back down seemed harder, though the waterfall was pretty spectacular. 

All in all, it was a fabulous day, with astounding views, and great memories.