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Top Places: Taupo, Lake Taupo, Mt Ruapehu, Tongariro Crossing, Huka Falls, Craters of the Moon & the Desert Road.
The
Taupo Region is a volcanic zone which contains some of the most violent thermal
activity in the country. The region is centered around Lake Taupo which is
ideal for swimming, boating and it is world famous for its trout fishing.
Lake
Taupo is New Zealands biggest lake and is actually a crater of a huge volcano.
In fact Lake Taupo use to be a mountain but was completely destroyed by the
biggest volcanic eruption in the last 5000 years, in the year 186 AD. Previous
to that eruption Lake Taupo had an eruption that was many hundreds of times
bigger than the 186 AD eruption and was the worlds largest and most destructive.
Today it is hard to believe, that such historical events took place as the
lake is so serene and peaceful. There are however tell tale signs such as
pumice stones on the shores and certain parts of the lake still heat up on
occasion.
South
of Lake Taupo is Tongariro National Park. This park sits on a high plateau
so it is quite cold here and the area is subject to snowfalls in the winter.
This area is ideal for skiing in winter and is popular due to the close proximity
with New Zealands 2 biggest cities, Auckland and Wellington.
Besides
skiing, the main attraction of Tongariro National Park are the volcanoes,
Mt Tongariro, Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu. They are situated next to each
other and are spectacular to look at as they rise high above the landscape
and are covered in snow in winter.
Mt
Ruapehu erupted in the years 1995 and 1996. One spectacular eruption produced
a column that climbed rapidly to 25,000 feet 7,500 m) and threw lava blocks
more than 0.6 mile (1 km) from the crater.
Mt Ngauruhoe was used as Mt Doom in the blockbuster
trilogy, 'Lord of the Rings'.
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