Here's why Mount Tauhara is definitely worth the climb

Mount Tauhara is a 65,000 year old dormant lava dome volcano, the gentle giant that stands as gatekeeper to Lake Taupō. The 2.5km track to the summit (1,088m/3,570ft) is popular with locals and visitors alike. At the top, the tall fella and I were treated to panoramic views of the district, and even as far as the peaks of Tongariro National Park.

After a weekend of foodie indulgence for our anniversary, a walk up Mount Tauhara was a must-do before heading home to Whakatāne. After downing coffees and bacon butties at the Sunday market (Aaron was stoked that the butties came with HP sauce), we drove the 10 minutes out of Taupō to the Mount Tauhara carpark. The car park is at the end of Mountain Road, just before a gated working farm.

Craters of the Moon

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.

Skydiving in Taupo

“Smile!” shouted my tandem master, Mike, as my feet dangled over the edge of the plane. In that split second I was nervously excited as I looked down at Lake Taupo. Before I could change my mind, I was already free falling from 15,000 feet. The cold air hit my face, rushed through my windpipe and into lungs. I could only describe the feeling as everything my logical brain should tell me not to do, yet I did it anyway. Rebel.

© 2015 Five Foot Ronna

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