On the way to Taupo we stopped off at the well-known tourist
attraction of Huka Falls. A pretty impressive set of rapids and a very short
walk from the camper.
 |
| Huka Falls - Two Olympic swimming pools worth of water flow through here every second. |
We planned on walking to the (free) thermal springs but
it was coming close to 30
°C, so we decided we
would try and find a swimming hole instead. This worked out well as it meant we
discovered Kinloch, a little town north west of Taupo on the lake. Kinloch is a
beautiful swimming spot with crystal clear water and a pontoon to jump off into
the lake. Coming here midweek was ideal as we had the beach almost to
ourselves. We rounded off our beach day with a fish and chip supper and a cold
beer in the evening sunshine which was bliss!
 |
| Enjoying the beach at Kinloch |
From here we headed to the Mohaka River. The fishing here
was awesome, casting to big hungry brown trout is something to behold and I
spent a very memorable afternoon working my way up a run picking off fish after
fish on tiny size 16 nymphs. I will never forget the feeling of having to hold
on for dear life and watch my line evaporate off the reel as they shot off at
warp speed through the fast clear water when hooked.
Our first backcountry tramping/fishing expedition was to the
Omaru Hut in the Kaimanawa Ranges to the headwaters of the Mohaka River system
- it wasn’t entirely successful! We spent a long, hot day tramping in with four
days of supplies only to find an American angler fishing what turned out to be
a very low river with only a few exceptionally spooky fish that had already
been fished for. We soon learnt that second hand water is more casting practice
than fishing. However we were both quite philosophical about this and were
looking forward to enjoying the comforts of our first night in a backcountry
hut. It wasn’t quite as glamorous as the internet leads you to believe. Empty
bullet casings and hundreds of dead blowflies weren’t exactly the welcoming
sight we had envisaged when we opened the hut door. We ate, we slept and we
walked back out the next day!
 |
| Walking into backcountry |
 |
| Nick not impressed with the facilities |
 |
| But the view from the hut made up for it! |
We spent the Christmas period with relatives (Noni and Ian)
at their home near Hastings enjoying fresh fruit from the roadside stalls;
watching Noni at a show jumping event and a Kiwi Christmas swimming in their
pool and having a BBQ. While based in
Hawke’s Bay we explored the popular Te Mata Peak. The views over the Tukituki
River, vineyards and the east coast beaches were beautiful. After visiting the
peak we completed a loop back through the Redwood forest and ended with a top-notch
coffee in the nearby hipster town of Havelock North.
 |
| Te Mata Peak Walk |
 |
| Te Mata Redwoods |
 |
| Coffee at Hawthorne Coffee Roasters |
New Year’s Day we followed
the Kiwi tradition and spent a fantastic day at Hastings Races. Nick backed a
few winners but all in all we broke even due to Sylvie’s doughnut expenses. A good
day had by all!
 |
| Sampling the fruity delights of Hawke's Bay |
 |
| View from Cape Kidnappers |
Comments
Post a Comment