Day 40 - Tuesday 13 February 2024

Today I had decided to take a cruise on Lake Taupo, to go and have a look at the Maori carvings that are only viewable from the water.

The story goes that the Artists grandmother asked her grandson to create a likeness of her ancestor on a totara tree to create a permanent connection between the family and the land. When he arrived in Taupo, there was no totara tree to carve, so he journeyed onto the lake for inspiration.

There was a rock alcove that became the canvas, the carving in rock towers 14 metres above the water of Lake Taupo. It took three summers to carve, and the artist camped out and hand carved the likeness after marking it out with chalk lines and spray paint, suspended by rope from above. Work ceased during the winters as it was too cold.

My cruise was aboard the Ernest Kemp; I left the hotel at 09:15 to walk to the dock, and stopped en route for coffee. I checked in a half hour before departure time of 10:30, and we boarded 15 minutes before setting out. This was a small boat made to look like an old lake steamer, so we had a reasonably small party. At the same time we departed a larger boat also pulled out, absolutely packed with people; looks like I made the right choice again! 

We sailed around Lake Taupo, learning of the local history, and how the volcanic eruption that created the lake was one of the biggest eruptions the world has seen; lava and pumice was thrown 40km into the air and created the caldera that Lake Taupo now fills. This is still and active volcano, and is part of the same system that saw White Island erupt in 2019.

It was a fantastic cruise, and we timed our arrival at the carving well as no other boats were about at the time; we spent about 10 minutes there with the boat being positioned so that everyone could get their photos and videos. We then left as some kayaks and a sailing boat arrived for their turns.

We cruised back along the coast where I had a walk yesterday afternoon, and returned to the dock at 12:15; as we disembarked the 12:30 party were waiting to take our place, so I went to the entrance to the lake from the dock, and captured some footage of the boat leaving on the next cruise.

I then had a wander around town before returning to the hotel to ask for some local advice to my plans for tomorrow. 

I'll be heading for Napier, but via the Tongario National Park which is in the wrong direction as I want to see some Lord of the Rings sites there. The road I'm thinking of taking is over 3 hours to Napier, and the suggestion was that returning to Taupo and using the state highways may be a better option. 

Not according to Satnav which suggests my planned route is about 45 minutes quicker, so I think I'll stick with the original plan. I then went and refuelled the car in readiness for tomorrow; I've calculated that I'm getting around 71 miles per gallon, and paying about £1.40 per litre for unleaded.