This morning we packed up and left Whangamata after a great couple nights. Unfortunately Reef's stomach was still in bad shape this morning and he couldn't keep anything down. But slowly over the day he improved, and by later this afternoon he was back to his old self.
We drove 3 hours from Whangamatā, through some beautiful areas including along a spectacular river near the town of Matamata where the Hauraki Rail Trail (one of New Zealand's "Great Rides") meanders along the river bank for a small portion of the ride's 197 km distance, on up into the mountains to the lakeside town of Taupō.
Taupō is a large town with a population of just over 25,000 - and it was cranking busy when we got here. The weather for the next three days is supposed to be clear skies and sunny - so with NZ school holidays happening right now it seems many kiwi's headed for the mountains to enjoy the good weather.
We are staying at The Reef Resort, for obvious reasons. It's perched right on the banks of the lake, and is fronted by a bike path which runs right along the lake's shoreline. After our late afternoon check-in we headed out to the path and immediately Sharyl spotted one of the reasons people visit this area - the hot springs. Right in front of our place was a tiny spring right next to the lake with steam pouring out of it. Sharyl went over and dipped her hands in the water - it was like putting your hands in a hot tub! And with the temperature dropping into the high 40's (we're finally getting that winter feel), that hot water sure felt awesome!
Over the next couple days we will be seeking out some larger hot springs, but it was a fun surprise to find this tiny hot spring right in front of our place. From our mini-hot spring it was about a 1/2 mile walk on the lakeside path to the two mile bay sailing club, which is a happening restaurant located right over the water of the lake, serving delicious wood-fired thin crust pizza and local beers (we enjoyed our first Lakeman Brewing beers - which were excellent).
Now back at the Reef Resort, we just finished watching the All Blacks vs Ireland in the tie breaking rugby test match (game) which just finished in Wellington, NZ. Both teams had won one test match in the series and tonight was all Ireland in the first half, then the All Blacks gained steam in a strong second half comeback - but it just wasn't quite enough. Ireland just became only the third team in history to win a best of three test match series played in New Zealand against the All Blacks . . . a tough night for New Zealand rugby fans, but it was fun to watch the game.
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