Lake Taupo 

See the clear blue waters on a summer’s day and Lake Taupo can appear the most beautiful and tranquil place in New Zealand. Appearances deceive. Taupo is more than a lake. It is a volcano with no top – a top that was blown off in one of the largest and most devastating eruptions ever seen on the planet. Visit the Craters of the Moon and you will see evidence of its fiery birth in the geysers, steaming craters and boiling mud pools.

Other scenic highlights include the magnificent Huka Falls, where more than 220,000 litres of water thunder over the cliff face every second and the Aratiatia Rapids. Take a trip to Tongaririo National Park World Heritage Area; a brilliant place for skiing in the winter and for hiking in the summer. Taupo is a great lake for adventure with water-skiing, parasailing, jet-skiing and kayaking but what it’s really well known for is fishing. The largest natural trout fishery in the world this is the place to cast a line and look for the big one. There’s a genuinely friendly local culture in Taupo and the surrounding towns and accommodation is plentiful. So why not stay awhile.