I've kayaked huka falls before, one of the coolest waterfalls I've done cause you get so much speed forward not just down.

those downed tree on the trails all fell in one night during a cyclone. a very specific stretch of forest about 5 minutes along a highway, got flattened by winds, honestly about 2 minutes down the road you would see basically an aftershot of a huge bomb. every tree, down in the same direction.

You missed Aratiatia rapids just up the road from Huka falls. It’s also free. Several times a days ( usually the even hours) the dam opens its overflow gates and you get to watch shallow pools fill up and become a raging torrent over 15- 20 minutes. There are several viewing platforms at different points along the river. This location is also where you can also catch a boat upriver to the base of Huka falls. Even though I am local I thought it was good value for money. Adrenaline junkies can go more expensive and go to Huka falls via jet boat. There are so many things that you have not seen in Taupo. It’s a great place for a break year round.

I'd hazard a guess that those trees had been knocked over during Cyclone Gabrielle in February last year - Taupo got hit hard with wind and there were lots of trees blown over there, so would have taken a while to clean 'em all up. Oh, and Craters of the Moon is nice - and at $10 is a decent price, but a bit further north is Orakei Korako, which is way more expensive, just under $50 for adults; but it is a lot more interesting. The walk is longer, and more strenuous but there's lots more to look at while you're there, part of the reason its $50 is you have to take a 1 minute ferry from the carpark to the start of the walk across the lake.

Surprised by how well you doing with te reo place names, curious if have you done any looking into te reo vowels you seem suprisingly chill with it (and r's,ng's,wh's)? That area of Taupo is just mint for the middle of of long haul drive south. and choosing simple easy walk.

The tree disease was called a wind blow powered by Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023, and in the Taupo area it took down approx 6000 hectares (about 15,000 acres) of exotic pines. A lot of the local attractions weren't able to be safely visited for many months ... the link is a little bit of youtube video of some of the wind blown trees kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qdCfY8eW0ZbIoKM.html

🍯🐝

I want to go rafting down the falls. Which location had the nicest bathroom? Probably very blue toilet water.