Lunch on a super volcano

I know it’s become a bit of a cliché whenever I say this but it’s always been a childhood dream of mine to stay at the Chateau Tongariro. Photos of this grand old hotel’s exterior, sit against the back drop of Mt Ruapehu always invoked visions of Edwardian charm and decorum. I imagined it as a place where high tea was served while musicians filled the air with classical chords.

Sadly our visit to the Chateau proved rather disappointing. We encountered a venue that seemed a little shabby around the edges, with mediocre service and underwhelming dining options.  However, our disappointment was somewhat offset by the truly magnificent landscape that surrounds the hotel.  It was virtually impossible not to take postcard-perfect images of Mt Ruapehu towering in the background; or capture the conical perfection of nearby Mt Ngauruhoe.

We’d originally planned to take a chairlift ride up to Knoll Ridge to soak up views of the Volcanic Plateau and a distant Mt Taranaki.  However, the chairlift was closed. It’s currently in the process of being replaced by a shiny new Swiss Gondola system.  As a result, we revised our plans and spent a day exploring the southern shores of Lake Taupo. 

The lake is a spectacular body of water in the heart of New Zealand’s North Island.  Ominously, its actually the immersed caldera for one of the world’s largest super volcanoes.  Its last eruption occurred in 232 AD. According to Wikipedia, this eruption “is believed to have first emptied the lake then followed that feat with a pyroclastic flow that covered about 20,000 square kilometres of land with volcanic ash. A total of 120 km3 of material is believed to have been ejected, and over 30 km3 of this is estimated to have been ejected in just a few minutes.”

However, on our visit, we saw little more than lots of fat and happy rainbow trout.  We began our day with a visit to the verdant lakeside resort of Kuratau.  We enjoyed a leisurely picnic lunch under shade trees while trailer boats filled with vacationing locals came and went.  We then visited the mud pools at Tokaanu before finishing the day with a tour of the Tongariro National Trout Centre.

The Trout Centre was a real highlight.  A well laid out exhibit explained the operation of Taupo’s trout hatcheries and the region’s modern fishing heritage.  Outside we watched mature trout swimming in a stream; from the railing of a footbridge and from a spectacular underwater viewing gallery.  The centre also has a Whio (Blue Duck) breeding program.  This includes two enclosures in which juvenile ducks could be seen swimming and diving to their heart's content.