Top Things to do in Taupo District
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10 Nature & Parks in Taupo District That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Taupo District, New Zealand including Mount Ngauruhoe, Adventure Shuttles, Lake Taupo, Huka Falls tracks, Waipahihi Botanical Gardens, Orakei Korako Cave & Thermal Park, Tongariro National Trout Centre, Motutere Recreation Reserve, Spa Thermal Park and Riverbank Recreational and Scenic Reserve, Great Lake Trail.
Restaurants in Taupo District
1. Mount Ngauruhoe
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 98 reviews
Reviewed By iVeracity - Magenta, Australia
The first time we drove and Mount Ngauruhoe came into view it did not disappoint. In July it was snow covered and although we could not walk the Tongariro alpine crossing without a guide we walked as far as possible to the mountain. The walk is beautiful and accessible but you must be well prepared and have gear for all weather conditions. We started in beautiful sunshine with outstanding views of the mountain and returned in snow.
2. Adventure Shuttles
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 3 reviews
Get the Buzz in the Central North Island outdoors by bike or on foot. We love helping people explore our place. At Adventure Shuttles we are passionate outdoors people who have biked, hiked and climbed extensively in New Zealand and overseas. Kiwis with over 40 years experience exploring the Central North Island outdoors
Reviewed By ScottSomerville70
We booked a last-minute self-guided trip with Garth and he couldn't have been more helpful. He responded quickly and we had everything arranged within an hour of contacting him. He picked us up from our accommodation the next morning and drove us to the start of the Great Lake Trail. He gave us some valuable tips about the track, too. The bikes were good and we were provided with a tool kit as well. Once we were finished biking, we had a great lunch at the Tipsy Trout in Kinloch (a tip from Garth), and we just texted Garth to let him know he could come pick us up. It was great not having to be back by a certain time and enjoy the ride at our own leisure. Would highly recommend!
3. Lake Taupo
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 24 reviews
Reviewed By Naina-Damani - London, United Kingdom
New Zealand’s largest lake with stunningly crystal blue fresh water of Lake Taupo, home to some of the best trout fishing in the world.
4. Huka Falls tracks
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 6,294 reviews
Always check the website for changes that might affect your trip.
Reviewed By SteveBaldwin-NZ - Hamilton, New Zealand
Really amazing sights and walk, very relaxing walking along the tracks, great facilities and car park too which makes the visit easy. Never get tired of visiting here
5. Waipahihi Botanical Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 177 reviews
Reviewed By Naina-Damani - London, United Kingdom
Waipahihi Botanical Garden is an amazing park of native trees and colourful bushes, shrubs and plants which boasts spectacular views over Great Lake Taupo.
6. Orakei Korako Cave & Thermal Park
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,299 reviews
Orakei Korako Geothermal Park & Cave is a stunning geothermal attraction located off the beaten track between Taupo and Rotorua. Described by the Lonely Planet Guide as "arguably the best geothermal area left in New Zealand", Orakei Korako brings you into a world of gushing geysers, bubbling mud pools, and some of the largest and most amazing silica terraces in the world.
Reviewed By AllanJGJ - Wellington, New Zealand
This is a brilliant site to see some easily accesible geothermal activity. A nice little boat trip across the river and a pleasant two kilometre plus stroll around the site makes for a pleasant hour or so viewing some amazing natural phenomena. We were impressed by the infrastructure - good quality steps and explanatory boards - and even more impressed by Nick the young man who ferried us across the river. It's a family business and he's rightly proud of it; he was more than happy to spend time chatting to us about the site and the difficulties of operating a small business in the face of covid. A definite asset to the business and a credit to his family. When he said thank you for our support it was obviously sincerely meant. This is a site worth visiting for it's natural wonders and a business worth supporting for it's contribution to the region.
7. Tongariro National Trout Centre
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 260 reviews
Walk the banks of the world famous Tongariro River. Visit the Trout Hatchery with its own museum and fresh water aquarium. Learn the history of fishing in Taupo. Have a picnic by the pond, feed the trout with special food available for sale from our visitor centre. See wild trout in the streams and at the underwater viewing chamber. Small charge for adults, kids free!
Reviewed By aliheydari781
Fantastic place to visit. You can see lovely trouts from a close distance, get familiar with their reproduction process. A great place for kids too.
8. Motutere Recreation Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
9. Spa Thermal Park and Riverbank Recreational and Scenic Reserve
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 376 reviews
Reviewed By batchhen2017 - Timaru, New Zealand
This is so close into town, its very available and easy to find. What a delightful thermal river and hot pools (man made little pools in rocks ) at the side of the larger pool. I was pleasantly surprised how modern the facilities are, changing rooms and toilets very clean. Someone told me its had an upgrade. This is a beautifully made attraction and its free to use, how about that in NZ? It was only 2d when I went, but the fog lifted and I had a lovely soak. I was expecting it to be hotter like 35 to 39d but it was prob about 3od. However, I thoroughly enjoyed my visit and stunning scenery around the river.
10. Great Lake Trail
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 67 reviews
The Great Lake Trail is a 70 kilometre purpose built mountain biking/walking/running trail situated close to Lake Taupo in the centre of New Zealand's North Island. The trail follows the western shore of Lake Taupo, and takes in stunning views across to the volcanic mountains of the Tongariro National Park. Anyone with a moderate level of fitness can, and should, experience The Great Trail.
Reviewed By huggyfamily - Auckland, New Zealand
Have now cycled all 3 Great Lake Trails, each on a different trip to Taupo in the last four months. Enjoyed them all. The first one we did was K2K (December), loved it, especially now as it can be done as a loop from Kinloch. Couldn't wait to go down in January to do our second trail, the W2K (return), starting at Kinloch, doing the Headland Loop (great flowy mountain bike trail! and lovely views on a lovely day), then down to Whakaipo Bay, slept on the warm stones while my husband had a refreshing dip in the lake, then we cycled back to Kinloch - yes it was hard yakka going back up the hill (slow and steady wins the race), but oh what a joy it was sweeping back down to Kinloch in the late afternoon. Fabulous day. Finally in April we did Waihora and Waihaha, return (57km) - no water taxi for us! Started the day at 9am from the top of the Waihora track, a great 17km ride down to the bay (2 and a half hours), had a lovely picnic, then rode back up (2 and a half hours), rode the farm road to the top of Waihaha track (10km - one hour, with a break to see cute alpacas!), then down Waihaha track (13km (two hours, with breaks to see the beautiful views of the river, canyon, waterfall, and setting sun). Managed to finish back at the car at sundown, 5.45pm, just as it was getting dark. Exhilarating! We are in our fifties. We were so exhausted that when we got back to Taupo we sat for an hour in a thermal pool and went to bed at 8.30pm without bothering with dinner! We can't say which trail we liked best, as they were all different, and brilliantly built. I am writing this review because a lot of websites and reviews say "a water taxi is required" for the Waihora Bay trail. Well, we proved it isn't Just make sure you have enough daylight hours...
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