It was not the perfect day to sail in this largest lake of NZ, Taupo (the size of Singapore!). It was raining in the morning then the afternoon seemed alright. So we proceed with the afternoon sail with Barbary cruise which we booked online through bookme.co.nz (really cheap deals there!). For half price $20, we went on the Barbary sailboat for 2 hours to see the Maori rock carvings.
The moment we sailed out, it was drizzling! Ooooo... Lucky the tour provides rain ponchos but it was still freezing cold.
Bill, the captain told us interesting stories and taught us a little about sailing. Lake Taupo is really special, it was a volcano crater filled with water from the three mountains of Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe. And from this lake, the water flows to Waikato River, the longest river in NZ. This lake is about 200metres deep! Amazingly, there are live corals near the crater vent because the temperature is quite warm there. It definitely looks more like a sea than a lake when we see it from the shore =)
Quite far away to the north west side of the lake, we had to cut through the big waves to see this Maori carving. It was carved in the late 1970s. This carving is the image of Ngatoroirangi (about 10 metres high) which is a powerful spirit protecting Lake Taupo from the volcanic activities underneath.
Because of the stong waves, we are lucky to be able to reach the carving. So we did not stay for long. Some boat trips have to be cancelled if there is too strong wind because it is dangerous to get near the cliffs.
This tour also provides hot drinks, biscuit and photo opportunity with the captain. All three of us got to sail the boat for a while too... since there are only three customers that sail =P
It was a nice sail, despite the cold cold wind and drizzling rain. Really fun when hitting the waves =P
Mount Tauhara
After the sail we went to the Huka Honey Hive for free tasting of honey and honey liquors! It was really nice this honey mead above but we find this shop is much more expensive!
For two nights we have been camping for free at Reid's Farm recreation reserve by the riverside. It's a good free camp since we can get water supply and shower at the Superloo (toilet) just opposite the I-site. A hot shower costs only $2.50 which runs for 4 mins. Reid's farm is just near Huka Falls and provides pit toilet. So we get to save a lot from accomodation here =)
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