08.11.06
Day 7 Did the Earth move for you too?
Taupo – another lovely seasidey feeling place – but on the shores of a lake (a volcanic one!!! 
)
We didn’t spend much time looking round actually as it was raining so much,
The weather in NZ has been very wet these last few days with reports on the news about landslips and houses nearly falling down holes – but not in Auckland I hasten to add 
Taupo
Anyway back to our trip along the Thermal Explorer Highway (or Super Highway 1 as I’ve christened it! 
)
First stop the Huka Falls
The Falls
A very fast flowing gorge with a spectacualar falls at the end of it – and people go in jet boats up to it and do all sorts of mad things like 360 turns in it and other generally “I’m not doing THAT Murray!” type things …
From there it was a short hop to the Volcanic Activity Centre – yes was in my element ! Lots of words like “tectonic” and “subduction zones” being banded about (yes I know I’m a sad geographer! 
) Its one of those interactive places so there were lots of things to play with – and the beauty of this trip is everyone else is at work so you get to go on things loads …. 
Where I’d like a job!
Having survived a 6 on the Reichter scale – in a simulation I might add :
it was off to some more hot spots at The Craters of the Moon – this is a realtively new thermal area which came about because of the local power station – and is still forming !
The rain came down which really steamed the place up – good for my chest though – after all those years of being held over steam to clear it as a child I just got to walk through it !
(will get back to you with link for that! I have got pics but my blog won’t take em!!)
From here we went to visit New Zealand Wood craft
Wood
where we saw a lathe demo much like Dad does – infact the business was up for sale … I could work the till Dad! 
The native wood the Kauri was what the Maoris used to build their canoes – massive trees!
From here we wound our way back over the mountains along superhighway 1 and some pretty dire rain storms back to Auckland