TURANGI

 WEDNESDAY, 23rd October.

Another fantastic day!  Starting off from Napier at 8.45a.m. we were soon on the open road, heading north west towards towards Taupo, stopping an hour later for our only roadworks stoppage for the day. 

 It was sunny and warm in the car but on our first stop to view the Waipunga Waterfall, 

the wind whistled right through us so the stop was brief.  A few spots of rain landed on the windscreen a little later but nothing serious though a heavy mist came rolling in, making visibility difficult for several minutes.

We arrived in Wairakei at about 11 o'clock and headed straight to theThermal Pools, which Mike was keen to try but I opted out and visited the cafe instead.  He totally enjoyed the pools and took photos

which made me sorry that I hadn't tried them.

After a light lunch in the cafe, we drove around to the Prawn Park, the name of which intrigued us.  

We'd have loved to see prawns 'exercising' but sadly for us, the park was closed.  Oh well!

Next stop, Huka Falls which we have visited before but well worth another visit

And then on to the Craters of the Moon

where for $10 each, we walked the Geothermal walk, on paths and boardwalks

Our next and final visit was to Taupo, with a stop at Acacia Bay

and a drive around the lake

On our way to Turangi, where we are stopping tonight.

On checking in at our accommodation, we asked the receptionist to point us towards the pub, in order that we might have a meal there and maybe a drink, or two, which she did but failed to mention that it was Wednesday, quiz night and we arrived there just a little too late, the pub was understaffed and there was a crowd, we waited more than an hour for our meal, which eventually came, and was good.                      

Wednesday, 23rd October, our grandson's 17th Birthday :  Happy Birthday Sam!