Taupo is arguably the place where Kiwi's come to play. There are lots of natural wonders here with the biggest lake in NZ (Lake Taupo), a big waterfall (Huka Falls) and so many geothermal steam vents that the town gets it's power and heat from all the steam.
There's so much going on here that it has drawn people to create other points of interest here. One of those is Lava Glass created by Lyndon Other's glass blowing studio. He has a great set-up to blow glass and talk to tourist's at the same time.
You can't see it from the picture, but he actually has a little bleacher to pack in the tourists and tour buses that visit his studio in peak season. Why couldn't we do a "map-making" demonstration at the Map Shop?
In addition to his studio and well-stocked Gallery, he has also created a blown glass garden stocked with a 1000 pieces of his work. It opened just last year with a ceremony by NZ's Prime Minister. It looked to us like he makes good money off booking it for weddings in its amphitheater.
And yes, this is where we got a souvenir for our trip.
After lunch, we visited Huka Falls; named after the Maori word for foam. It's the foam that turns the water that beautiful shade of aqua.
Later that afternoon, we strolled along Lake Taupo, had an early dinner and packed up for our long drive back to Auckland. This picture shows yet another Maori carving. I had no idea how much the Maori culture was woven into every day life in NZ. Many places show signs in English and Maori.
Two days in Auckland and we will begin our journey home.
There's so much going on here that it has drawn people to create other points of interest here. One of those is Lava Glass created by Lyndon Other's glass blowing studio. He has a great set-up to blow glass and talk to tourist's at the same time.
You can't see it from the picture, but he actually has a little bleacher to pack in the tourists and tour buses that visit his studio in peak season. Why couldn't we do a "map-making" demonstration at the Map Shop?
And yes, this is where we got a souvenir for our trip.
After lunch, we visited Huka Falls; named after the Maori word for foam. It's the foam that turns the water that beautiful shade of aqua.Later that afternoon, we strolled along Lake Taupo, had an early dinner and packed up for our long drive back to Auckland. This picture shows yet another Maori carving. I had no idea how much the Maori culture was woven into every day life in NZ. Many places show signs in English and Maori.Two days in Auckland and we will begin our journey home.
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