North Island Tour with Cait: Part 5

After leaving Tikitapu, we set out for a long drive that would take us by lake Taupo (NZ largest lake), and through pine plantations and native bush forests over to the Hawke's Bay. Here are some of the things we did along the way:

On the shores of Taupo

The incredible pumice stones found on the shores of
Taupo from a volcanic eruption

View of Tongariro (Where we'd be heading in a week)

Huka Falls fed by the Waikato River

Just before we reached Taupo we stopped at an amazing active thermal valley known as Craters of the Moon. It was the closest we've been to seeing what the beginning of life on Earth might have looked like.

Steam vents at Craters of the Moon

A closeup of a vent

One of several primordial craters

A bubbling mud pool in the center of a crater

Falls from the Waipunga River west of Hawks Bay and our next destination, Napier