Craters of the Moon
An overcast day made the walk slightly moody - I would love to do this walk in the rain and see nature's chaos prevail.
Sunday, 25 June 2017 - Craters of the Moon, Taupo
Taupo is a geothermal wonderland - though I could picture Craters of the Moon literally once being a large paddock until developers realised people would pay money to walk in this paddock. You could say it was the perfect place to be on a cold winter’s day - after ten minutes of walking I was breaking into a sweat and by the time I reached the lookout, I wished I was wearing shorts.
Craters of the Moon is about ten minutes drive outside of Taupo township - it’s so well sign posted, even I couldn’t get lost (which I am notorious at by the way). In saying that, this was an impulse visit, as I had been driving for a couple of hours and needed to stretch my legs. I was early for my skydive (which was later cancelled due to the weather), so I decided to check it out.
It was overcast and the clouds looked heavy with rain - I thought about bringing my coat, but took a punt that the rain would hold off for an hour of two. I was right, it held off as I headed back to the carpark.
I can’t really explain why I find steam coming out of the ground more fascinating than steam coming out of a boiling kettle - maybe it’s that element of danger, or possibly that it was natural and not man made. The power of nature is both beautiful and scary, a bit like admiring a bull as it charges towards you.
At the lookout - sweaty as, but the view was worth it. I'm glad there was no-one behind me, they might have thought I was having an asthma attack from how loudly I was breathing!
By the way, if you’re a mountain bike enthusiast, I drove past a mountain bike track. A couple of riders emerged from the side of the road as I was heading back to town. With the recent rain I would say it would have been a tough ride, but they still had smiles on their faces so maybe I will check it out next time.
You can easily walk the loop (including the lookout) in an hour, and that’s taking it easy. Take your time, there’s plenty of photo and video opportunities. I was there around 11am and it was pretty quiet. There are so many small vents I didn’t notice at first glance, so make sure to stay on the path.
The lookout loop has some steeper parts, but I highly recommend it for the view. To be honest, it’s the best part, so if you can, spend the extra 15 minutes and climb to the top. Overall, the walk itself is pretty easy, and is good for all fitness levels.
There were times when the horizon disappeared and what I saw in front of me was nature flexing its muscles.