Touring Taupo

We arrived in beautiful Taupo after following the lakeside road up from the South. After wandering around the town centre and stopping for a bite to eat, we headed to nearby river which had a naturally heated spring flowing into it. We sat in our swimsuits under the hot water as it cascaded down, and as it was natural, it didn’t cost us a penny to relax in! Afterwards we ended up on a popular freedom camping site right on the edge of the lake to cook dinner.

In terms of finding information on campsites, we’ve been using our provided sat nav from the rental company that comes complete with Camper Mate. The app allows you to search for paid camping grounds, freedom camping areas (where you can stay for free usually as long as you have a certified self contained camper), local activities and services (like dump stations to clear waste and laundrettes for washing etc.). We’ve been using the app, the reviews helpfully left by other users, to find good spots to spend the night and to decide which activities and areas are worth stopping for on the road.

Whaaat?!

Whilst a popular camping ground, our spot in Taupo was no where near full, with plenty of space for many campers as the light started to fade. Much to our surprise (and Alice’s horror), the occupants of a converted car decided to park about 5 feet away from the side of our camper (despite the ample space all around) and once there, decided to cook their dinner literally right outside the door we use to get into and out of our van! We could hear the occupants talking so clearly they sounded like they were sharing our camper with us, and every time they tried to cook, they kept walking into our door. Divine retribution occurred after roughly 4 hours seething (typical Brits sitting inside complaining but not actually daring to ask them to move over), when a patrol warden pulled up and started talking to them. It turns out these inconsiderate people had completely ignored the very clearly labelled signs which stated the area was for self contained vehicles only, and they were rightly booted off at 10pm! We don’t know if they received the $200 NZ fine they should have but it was karma enough for trapping us in our van for a few hours.

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