Things to do in Taupō

What Taupō is known for

Three things: the lake, the river and the heat under the ground. The lake is big enough to have its own weather and cold enough that the trout grow large; fly fishing in the rivers that feed it, the Tongariro above all, draws anglers from all over the world. The river leaves the lake as the Waikato, the longest in the country, and runs clear and blue through town. The geothermal field north of town powers the Wairakei power station, one of the first of its kind in the world when it was commissioned in 1958, and it fills the hot streams and steaming craters you can walk among for a few dollars or for nothing.

The Māori name is Taupō-nui-a-Tia, the great cloak of Tia, after the explorer who first came to the lake. Ngāti Tūwharetoa hold mana over the lake, and they own its bed. Our guide Taupō: the lake, the falls and the volcano next door has more of the story.

Things to do in Taupō

• Huka Falls: the whole Waikato River, often around 220 cubic metres a second, is forced from a channel about 100 m wide into a rock gorge 15 m wide and then drops about 11 m in a wall of blue and white water. It is a few minutes' drive north of town, free, and the footbridge over the gorge is the best place to feel the noise. You can also walk there from town along the river.
• Huka Falls Jet (24 itineraries): a jet boat up the river to the foot of the falls, with the spins you would expect. Short, loud and wet; you do not need to be brave.
• The Mine Bay rock carvings (6 itineraries): a carving of the navigator Ngātoroirangi, about 14 m high, cut into the cliffs at Mine Bay in the late 1970s by Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell and a small team. You can only see it from the water, on a cruise, a sailing boat or a guided kayak trip.
• Craters of the Moon (4 itineraries): a boardwalk through a steaming geothermal valley just north of town. It is quieter and cheaper than the big Rotorua parks and has no geysers or mud pools of note, just a great deal of steam.
• Wairakei Terraces (3 itineraries): man-made silica terraces, a walkway and thermal pools fed by the geothermal field.
• Hot water for free: in Spa Thermal Park, a short walk from the centre, a hot stream runs down into the cold Waikato River, and people sit where the two mix. Swimwear and a bit of care on the rocks are all you need.
• Golf: Kinloch, on the north shore of the lake, is on 2 of our golf itineraries, and there are several other courses around town.

Taupō or Rotorua: which is better?

They are 80 km apart and people ask this constantly. Rotorua is the place for Māori culture and the big geothermal parks: geysers, boiling mud, the cultural evenings and the marae visits. It smells of sulphur and it is busier. Taupō is the place for the lake and the river, for jet boats, fishing, sailing and hot streams, and it is calmer and prettier. If you have one night, stay in Rotorua and stop in Taupō for the falls and the jet boat on the way south. If you have two, give one to each.

Our itineraries mostly do exactly that. Taupō is the place for lunch, Huka Falls and a jet boat between Rotorua and Napier, or the overnight before the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is about an hour and a quarter away by road.

How to get to Taupō

Taupō is on State Highway 1, almost exactly halfway between Auckland and Wellington, which is why so many North Island trips pass through it. State Highway 5 runs north to Rotorua and south east over the ranges to Napier. South of town, State Highway 1 follows the eastern shore of the lake to Tūrangi and then crosses the Desert Road, which is the high, bare and occasionally snow-closed stretch past the volcanoes; check the NZ Transport Agency in winter.

Taupō Airport (TUO), south of town, has scheduled flights to Auckland and Wellington. Rotorua Airport (ROT) is the next closest with a wider schedule. InterCity coaches stop in the centre on the Auckland to Wellington run.

Weather and when to go

Taupō sits about 360 m above sea level, so it is cooler than the coast. Summer is warm and settled, with average highs around 23°C and long evenings on the lakefront. Winter is cold and frosty, with lows around 3°C, but often clear, and the ski fields on Mount Ruapehu are close enough for a day trip. Rainfall is a little under 1,000 mm a year. The MetService forecast for Taupō covers the town; the weather on the mountain can be quite different.

January and the school holidays are the busiest time, when New Zealand families fill the lakefront motels and the boat ramps. February and March are our favourite months: the lake is at its warmest, the crowds have gone home and the Alpine Crossing is most often open. The Ironman and the big cycle challenge around the lake bring crowds on certain weekends, so check the dates if you are booking late.

Where to stay in Taupō

Most accommodation is along Lake Terrace, the lakefront road running south from the town centre, with some lodges up the hill and on the river. Motels are the staple and there are plenty of them. The properties our itineraries use:

• Anchorage Resort (7 itineraries): the property our Taupō overnights use most.
• Millennium Hotel & Resort Manuels (5): a lakefront hotel a short walk south of the centre.
• Acacia Cliffs Lodge (2): a small lodge above the lake, for the itineraries that want something quieter than a motel.

You can see every trip through the town on the tours through Taupō, from NZ$2,350.