Taupo - do the Tongariro (Taupo)

Member Name: georgieturpin

Product:	Taupo
Date:	10/02/09 (11 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Almost anywhere you stay they can get you sorted with the various activities in Taupo.

Disadvantages: Once you have done all of the activities there isn't that much left to do in the town.

Taupo was our penultimate stop in New Zealand, and although we wanted so much to carry on it was a good one to finish with. The town is lovely, it has lots of lovely little shops, lots of nice bars and it had a big supermarket that didn't take too long to walk to; which was very good for us backpackers. The hostel, Base Taupo, was awesome, full of backpackers and the rooms were gorgeous, not the usual backpacker standard.

Taupo is the cheapest place in New Zealand to go skydiving, for the basic skydive it costs just £90, which is so good. The company, skydive Taupo, were really nice and helpful. The weather had been pretty rough so it was uncertain whether we would be able to do the dive or not, we were the last dive of the day and just for us the clouds cleared. A word of warning, don't act too confident or excited as you will have to go first, that was my mistake! It was an incredible experience; we jumped out just over Lake Taupo and could even see mount Doom, from Lord of the Rings in the distance. The best part of the dive though was the freefalling, so I'd recommend doing the higher dive as you get more freefall.

The 2nd day we decided to do the Tongariro crossing this was incredible but also incredibly tough. We had to be up at 5 to get on the bus so we had enough time to complete the crossing. We were told it would take between 7 and 9 hours, which was quite scary. It began alright, it was not too hilly and the weather was ok. The scenery was incredible it was like being in Lord of the Rings; you really understand why they chose New Zealand to film it in. Then we came to the devils staircase, it was hell! There wasn't even a track; it was just dirt with a few rocks for you to cling on to. It was so so hard and seemed to never end, but the relief when you made it to the top was immense.

We continued to walk past yet more glorious scenery, past numerous incredible craters filled with emerald and turquoise waters. The downhill didn't come for a long while; we seemed to just keep walked upward albeit not that steep it tires you out after walking up hill for about two and a half hours. At one point we were walking along a ridge in between two craters the ground was just dirt and there was a sheer drop either side of us. Whilst we were up on the ridge the weather worsened, you could barely see a hundred metres in front of you, and the wind and the rain was horrendous.

Then at last came the down hill, we half ran half slip down the rest of the ridge, which was enormous fun. We then walked through grassland, which then turned into never ending rainforest, until at last we reached the car park. This trip is most definitely not for the light hearted, and if you go definitely wear good shoes. My friend had just running trainers and her feet were destroyed. This did however give us an excuse to check out Taupo's medical facilities; although it was a bit of a trek away they were very helpful.

Taupo is definitely worth a stop if you are visiting New Zealand, however if are viewing the whole of New Zealand, I'd wait till you get to South Island to do your skydive as you can dive over a glacier. But nothing the beets the rewarding feeling you get when you complete the Tongariro crossing.

Summary: Definitely worth a visit - the Tongariro Crossing is imense!