Johnny in New Zealand's Taupo Area

 The Taupo area, in the center of the North Island on the shores of Taupo Lake, had a lot of stuff to see and do. So Johnny, Steve and the kids spent a lot of time there... and took a lot of photos. I'll mostly just post photos with little commentary.

The first photos are of Huka Falls

Jet boats take tourists to the foot of the waterfall.

Also, ferry boats take tourists there. You can tell that Johnny et al drove around above to view.

Craters of the Moon is a geothermal area in the Taupo region.

a crater

hot, bubbling mud pool

Aratiatia Dam is opened several times a day. Johnny et al watched the water spew forth.

This Chaffinch was very friendly, looking for a handout apparently. What a pretty bird!

At a museum, the kids held up a light weight volcanic boulder.

This was a bungee jumping and big swing site. They were hoping to see someone jump but did not. I cannot even imagine...

 Spa Thermal Park is a very popular swimming/soaking area. Two hot streams combine and feed into a very cold river. The water ranged from very hot at the upper end to pleasantly hot farther down... and icy cold in the river, with warnings not to go into the river as it was very fast and very cold.

This kid friendly zip line did not get far off the ground. Steve had to hold his feet up high.

 Another playground and another interesting public restroom...

 A Maori design on a weaving at the Taupo Museum and Maori Cultural Center...

And a modern sculpture of a Maori god...

Another geothermal area, Orakei Korako Thermal Area, with geysers and steaming mud pools...

and a geyser just beginning to erupt when they arrived...

 More North Island adventures yet to come!