Battle of the Lake Towns
Which is the nation’s best lake town, Taupo¯ or Tekapo?
DESTINATION: TAUPO¯ , by ROBERT STEVEN.
Unlike an irrelevant little lakeside village in the South Island, Taupo¯ is an adventure tourism giant – and an entrepreneurial hotbed.
Busloads of tourist bustle into town every day, bubbling with excitement.
They’ve options aplenty: mountain biking, wakeboarding, bungy jumping, and skydiving.
These are all activities that don’t utilise the lake.
If you’d prefer to relax, wander the six shopping streets in the town centre.
There’s something for everyone – we have two streets full of bars and restaurants, and stunning lake views.
Like coffee and cafes? Tekapo has three ... or try Taupo¯ , with 18 cafes in the town centre.
Wait, 18 cafes? Mental, right? How do these businesses get by? Probably thanks to the events hitting Taupo¯ every second weekend.
Most Kiwis know of the Lake Tekapo Cycle Challen... jokes, it’s the Lake Taupo¯ Cycle Challenge, dummy.
It’s Taupo¯ ’s biggest weekend, when more than 6000 cyclists descend to ride around that big
‘‘Tekapo might have one, single, good photo opportunity, but Taupo¯ offers albums of exceptional photo ops...’’ ROBERT STEVEN
puddle.
If a 160-kilometres road race is a bit far, there’s 80km, 40km, and 10km options. Worth watching the 1280km [eight-laps] and 640km riders come in too.
So, lapping the lake is a pretty wacky idea, right? Taupo¯ is an ideas town. The geothermal energy under our feet is being used to generate power, sure.
But it’s also being used for its direct heat value – drying milk powder at Miraka, growing tomatoes at Tuaropaki, drying timber in kilns at Tenon and of course, farming whopper prawns in warm water at the Huka Prawn Park.
The excess warm water is also keeping boatless wakeboarders cosy at Taupo¯ Wakeboard Park, which uses a motorised tow-line system.
If you prefer skating to boarding, join our local roller derby team, the Huka Dolls.
The thing about Taupo¯ is, locals love the outdoors as much as visitors.
The local Craters Mountain Bike Park, maintained by local enthusiasts, has 50 kilometres of tracks.
Riders can weave through the exotic pine and eucalyptus plantations all year round.
Now I’m sure biking or walking to Tekapo’s church is a real thrill.
But if you feel like a REAL bushwalk, hike on down to the Huka Falls or up Mt Tauhara.
The mountain is only five minutes from town, and the 2.8km trail takes you through native trees to the summit.
Taupo¯ ’s strong economy stands firm on four diverse industries: geothermal, forestry, agriculture and tourism.
Most tourists come for Lake Taupo¯ , New Zealand’s largest, with a 616-square-kilometre surface area.
Tourism spending in Taupo¯ grew by 9.4 per cent in 2017, compared to the national average of just 6.4 per cent, so news of the big lake is catching on.
Tekapo might have one, single, good photo opportunity, but Taupo¯ offers albums of exceptional photo ops, from the lakes to the geysers to the mountains. So forget little Lake Tekapo. The heart of the North Island is the place to be – and we welcome you all.