The sixth annual Taupō Winter Festival will be held from 9 July until 25 July 2021. The major events will be held between Wednesday 14 July and Sunday 18 July. Schools break up for the mid-year holidays on 9 July and resume on 26 July so the festival coincides with the school holidays. The details …
There are four major geothermal fields around and under Lake Taupō. It is not surprising there are a number of thermal pools and spas available to the public. Wairakei Terraces and Thermal Health Spa is located on the Thermal Express Highway at Wairakei adjacent to State Highways 1 & 5. SH1 is the road to …
There are three ski fields on Mt Ruapehu: Tukino; Whakapapa; and Tūroa. These are between 100 and 150 km from Omaio and take from 1.5 to 2 hours driving to reach their carparks. The Tukino ski field is a club-operated skiing, snowboarding and climbing area on the eastern flanks of Ruapehu. Since the prevailing wind …
Entries have opened on-line for the 2022 Swimming New Zealand Epic to be held in Lake Taupō on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 January, 2022. Omaio is already booked for this week-end but Lakeside Accommodation (07 376-7163) have other properties that are available. In addition to the New Zealand Open Water Championships over 5 km, …
If you want to do something really memorable a visit to Orakei Korako (“place of adorning”), a geothermal park 25 minutes drive north of Taupō is a great option. It has 27 geysers, multi-coloured thermal terraces, mud pools and caves set among native vegetation. You have to lake a short boat trip across the Waikato …
Ironman Triathlons originated in Hawaii in 1978. They have spread around the world since then. The World Championship Ironman event is held annually in Kilua-Kona, Hawaii. Triathlons more generally have a longer history. Multi-sport events became popular in France in the early 20th Century. Several of these involved three sports and some were swim-bike-run events, …
Taupō Mini Golf We have played mini golf while on holiday in several places and Taupō has one of the best maintained courses we have come across. The gardens are always well maintained and the surface is good. The 18-hole course opened in 1992 on its current site between Northcroft Street and Lake Terrace a …
Mt Tauhara from Omaio’s patio The dominant feature in the landscape from Omaio, apart from Lake Taupō, is Mt Tauhara. This is a dormant volcanic dome to the east of Taupō township about 4 kilometres from the lake edge. There is a 2.6km climb to the top. The track, mostly through bush after initially being …
