Lake Taupo
After breakfast, we were driven into town by the resort to meet our captain for a half day adventure on the lake. Lake Taupo is the largest natural body of water in the Southern Hemisphere created from a series of volcano craters. The lava bed means this lake is deep, cold and very clear. We took a tour around part of the lake before heading to our destination for the rest of the morning.
One of the more interesting sights was an area of carvings in the cliffs done by an artist over a several year period of time. Most represented native symbols and animals. You can tell how large the are from the kayaks close by.
With the sightseeing concluded, we head off for the main activity of the day - fishing. The main catch on the lake is trout. The spawn in the nearby rivers but return to the lake to fatten up and recover. Because trout like cold water, special weights were added to the lines to get the bait down to where they hang out. It really didn't take all that long before we were reeling them in.. While we caught somewhere between 6-8, we were only allowed to keep 2 of them since the others were considered too small. They were quickly put out of their misery with a little wooden club applied to their head. We took them with us back to the lodge where the chef were prepare some as sashimi for dinner and some smoked for breakfast.
When we pulled in our lines for the day, our captain fired up the grill and we had steak for lunch. This was a full size meal and probably could have subbed for dinner if we didn't have such a wonderful meal waiting back at the lodge.
On the way back to our dock, we saw a couple of parasailers near the shore. Black swans and ducks gathered around the shore waiting for any scraps that might be tossed their way.
It was a lovely morning on the lake but we were ready to head back for a little break.
Mid-afternoon we visited a local art glass gallery, Lava Glass. Several artist sell their works in the gallery and there's a demonstration room to see how it is all done. An outdoor glass garden completes the visit.
Since tonight was our last night at the Lodge, we chose to sit in the Queen's dining room, the only place the Queen would eat when visiting. We imagined ourselves royalty and enjoyed the enticing food and drink. it really had been a visit of a lifetime.
Tomorrow: Glow Worm Caves
With the sightseeing concluded, we head off for the main activity of the day - fishing. The main catch on the lake is trout. The spawn in the nearby rivers but return to the lake to fatten up and recover. Because trout like cold water, special weights were added to the lines to get the bait down to where they hang out. It really didn't take all that long before we were reeling them in.. While we caught somewhere between 6-8, we were only allowed to keep 2 of them since the others were considered too small. They were quickly put out of their misery with a little wooden club applied to their head. We took them with us back to the lodge where the chef were prepare some as sashimi for dinner and some smoked for breakfast.
On the way back to our dock, we saw a couple of parasailers near the shore. Black swans and ducks gathered around the shore waiting for any scraps that might be tossed their way.
It was a lovely morning on the lake but we were ready to head back for a little break.
Mid-afternoon we visited a local art glass gallery, Lava Glass. Several artist sell their works in the gallery and there's a demonstration room to see how it is all done. An outdoor glass garden completes the visit.
Tomorrow: Glow Worm Caves
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