Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand,  and it is also one of the largest caldera lakes in the world.  The massive eruptions that created Lake Taupo started 26,500 years ago, and the last eruption in 180 AD created ash clouds that caused visible effects to the sky at far as China and Russia. Nowadays,  the volcano is no longer active, and Lake Taupo become a hub for outdoor activities and water sports, especially during summer. During winter, the region is renowned for world class ski resorts. But for us,  especially on a rainy day like this, all we wanted to do is just we say we have been to Lake Taupo and know what it looks like, and if we were lucky enough, take a glimpse of the snowy mountain caps if Mt Tongariro when the sky clears up a little. So with that thought,  we hopped onto our car and embarked on a leisure drive down to Lake Taupo. 

陶波湖是新西兰最大的湖，也是世界上最大的火山湖之一。它于26500年前的一次庞大的火山爆发中形成，在之后的二万多年里曾经多次爆发。最后一次爆发是在公元180年左右，据说那次大爆发的火山灰蔓延到遥远的格棱兰，火山灰形成的奇云异彩远至俄罗斯也能看见，汉朝的古书里也有记载。到了现在，陶波湖已经是个死火山，而这个淡水湖也变成了户外爱好者天堂。在夏天，陶波湖是各种水上活动的基地。而到了冬天，陶波湖边世界闻名的滑雪场则变得大受欢迎。我们去的时候正好是冬天，不过我们对滑雪兴趣不大。我们只想去这个大湖看看，到此一游，说不定还能看到湖边的雪山呢。我们怀着期待的心跳上车，在这个乌云密布的早上往陶波湖进发。

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From Rotorua to Taupo township which is right on the shores of Lake Taupo takes about an hour. When we left Rotorua we could still see some clear skies,  but it started pouring down very soon. Even in rain, the drive was a beautiful one, with the winding road cutting through rolling hills and farm lands. The scenery was so picturesque that I would have stopped every five minutes to take a picture if not for the quite busy traffic and the pouring rain.  Eventually the rain stopped just when we reached a beautiful set of farm fields with a siding by the road. So I pulled over and took a few snaps quickly before it started to rain again.

从罗托努阿到陶波湖畔的陶波市大概一小时的车程。我们离开罗托努阿时天边还有一丁点的蓝。开了不够十分钟的车，天就下起了滂沱大雨。不过大雨倾盆也没有冲淡这公路的美，弯弯曲曲的公路绕着连绵起伏的山坡和平坦的草原和农庄，充分地演译了田园郊野的如画风光。如果不是路上车辆众多，我肯定会每过几分钟就要停下来拍照。半路上，刚好有个在公路旁让司机休息的地方。这里在农场旁边，风景优美，刚好雨也停了，于是我们停了车休息了一会，拍了一下这田野景色，才继续上路。

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Just before reaching Taupo about 15 minutes away is the famous Huka Falls. It is the largest waterfall in the North Island,  and is where Lake Taupo flows into the Waikato River. When we got there, it was pouring down, but we decided to go and have a look anyway, since the viewpoint was only 5 minutes walk from the car park anyway.  In fact, I was quite excited, as heavy rainfall would mean decent water flow that would make a waterfall even more majestic to see. And I was not disappointed! As soon as I stepped out of the car, we could hear rumbling sound of the rapids.  And as we stepped onto the wooden bridge, we were awestruck by the raging waters gushing through the narrow opening, as the water was squeezed through a 50 m gorge down the Mighty Waikato downhill. As we walked further we got a glimpse of the waterfall itself. Like a giant runaway tap the water, blue and crisp,  thundered down the 11 m drop. The impact created pure white foam that spread down the river like cream floating on frappe. A pretty magnificent sight to behold!

快到陶波市大概还有15分钟的距离，我们经过了有名的胡卡瀑布。这是新西兰北岛最大的瀑布，是陶波湖湖水流往怀卡图河时形成。我们到达时雨非常的大，不过我们还是决定要下车看看，反正从停车场走到瀑布不到5分钟的路程。我其实还是特别的期待，因为大雨过后瀑布的水流肯定会又多又急，必定很壮观！果然不出我所料，我们一下车就听见了水流的隆隆作响。当我们踏上了木板桥，我们都深深的被汹涌澎湃的激流所震撼。河水从陶波湖急流而下，被挤进只有50米宽的狭窄峡谷， 形成了这壮丽的景观。再往前走一会，我们就看见了胡卡大瀑布，蔚蓝清澈的河水像个水龙头一样从11米的高度涌下，声响如雷。河水冲击而成的白沫像冰咖啡上的奶油一样飘浮在河面上。果然是个很壮观的瀑布！

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After the detour to Huka Falls,  we continued our way to the Taupo Lake front.  Unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs by now and there was pretty much zero chance to see the snowy Mt Tongariro in the distance.  In fact, when we reached the pier at the lakefront, the visibility across the lake is next to zero. But there were gatherings of ducks and seagulls on the lawns beside the lakefront,  seemingly unfazed by the heavy rain and the high wind. I hurriedly took a few shots without leaving the car to prove that we were here, and then moved on.

离开了胡卡瀑布我们继续往前，过了不久就到了陶波湖畔。到达湖畔时雨已经大得模糊了视线，我只能接受这次肯定看不了雪山的事实。在湖畔的码头我们停车看了一下，风大雨大得基本上看不见对岸。而草地上的野鸭和海鸥竟然像什么都没事一样，一群群坐在湖畔休息。我在这拍了几张到此一游照，然后就匆匆回到车上。

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We followed the shoreline to look for better vintage points to see more of the lake. Lake Taupo was indeed huge.  If we didn't know better we would probably have believed that this was in fact the sea. We drove by a quiet neighbourhood on top of a hill which offered a better vista of the lake as well as rolling grass fields that covered much of the area. Further down,  we came to a little bay area when the rain was the heaviest. The strong wind and stormy skies set such a dramatic scene that we decided to stop and watch the battering storm for a while.

我们沿湖边开了一会，发现陶波湖真的很大，感觉像在看海一样。在附近的山头我们找到了一个观景点，可以眺望和欣赏远处的陶波湖和前方金黄半枯的草地拼合出的如画景象。再往前开，我们到达了一个港湾旁，在狂风大雨下，这里就像个被飓风蹂躏的海湾，巨浪拍打在沙滩上。我们坐在车上，静静地看着这灰暗但优美的风暴。

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After a while the weather calmed down a bit, so we decided to  look for something to eat. We found this little lakeside pizza joint which was just what we were looking for. The restaurant was built over water,  and the colourful signs and the canoes out front gave it quite a tropical feel. Inside though was more a cosy atmosphere, with the warm coloured wooden furniture and the roaring woodfires in fire pits making us feel especially warm.  Even though it was windy and stormy outside, the plastic rain covers over the windows kept us nice and dry. There was not a lot of choices in terms of food, even for their speciality wood fire pizza there were only 3-4 types to choose from. But I guess it was enough to nourish us.  They even had a feijoa made soft drink for sale. It was surprisingly relaxing to be able to sit warm and toasty, sipping on lattes while watching the wave raging on the lake surface. A pretty special lunch indeed!

过了一会，雨变小了，风也缓了下来。我们决定在附近吃午饭再走。我们找到了一家很有意思，架在水上的餐馆。餐馆外五颜六色的招牌和摆设在门外的独木舟给人一种热带风情的感觉。然而餐厅里给人的却是种温暖的居家感觉，特别是木制的桌椅和炉上的柴火让我们在这湿冷的天气下感到十分温暖和舒适。虽然外面风雨交加，在透明胶帘的保护下一点也感觉不到。餐厅里的选择不多，主打的柴火披萨也只有几款。虽然不是很好吃，但也够暖胃了。这里还有用斐济果做的果汁汽水呢！在温暖的炉火下一边喝着咖啡一边观看湖面上的惊涛骇浪竟也是十分惬意。

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After lunch, we realised that there is nothing much else to do, so we decided to head back.  We drove back north, stopping along the way for more photos of the lake as the sky cleared up a bit and rays of sunshine lit up parts of the area. On our way we encountered another view point of Huka Falls.  This time, the viewpoint was at the top of a hill, so we have a nice panoramic view of the waterfall and the river beyond.

午餐过后，我们发现下雨天在附近真的没什么玩的，所以只能开车往回走。路上我们走走停停，欣赏着被阳光透过乌云照亮着的湖畔。离开了陶波湖边，我们再次经过了胡卡瀑布。这次我们找到了山上的一个瞭望台，可以看到瀑布的全景。

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It was only about 3:00pm when we arrived back at Rotorua,  so we decided to visit another lake - Lake Rotorua. The name Rotorua essentially means two lakes,  as there are two lakes in the vicinity of the Rotorua Township: Lake Rotorua and Lake Rotoiti, and the Rotorua township was built right on the shores of Lake Rotorua. The Lakefront is in fact quite close to the town’s CBD. Like Lake Taupo, Lake Rotorua was formed from a volcanic eruption, but it is much smaller in size: we could easily see the opposite shore from the lakefront. By the time we got there, the sun was out, with golden rays seeping past the silver lining of the rain clouds,  shining on the grass fields beside the lake. Black swans swam in the gentle waves near the shore, and an old couple threw pieces of bread up into the sky, into the squad of flying seagulls that fought for this special feed. Everything was so picturesque! There was even a children's playground right beside the lake.  It was a right decision to visit the lake and we spent the afternoon just chilling and relaxing along the lakeside.

回到罗托努阿才下午三点时间还早，于是乎我们决定再去看看另外一个湖:罗托努阿湖。罗托努阿这个名字本来就是两个湖的意思，而罗托努阿市就是建在罗托努阿湖畔，湖畔离市中心很近。和陶波湖一样，罗托努阿湖也是个火山湖，不过它的面积要比陶波湖小得多，从湖边可以轻易地看见湖对岸。我们到达湖边已经雨过天睛，太阳光穿透过乌云的银边，变成金黄的光束，洒在湖畔的草地上。一群黑天鹅在湖边戏水，一对老夫妇在草地上抛面包，吸引了海鸥从四方八面飞来争夺。这里还有小孩玩的游乐场呢！我们就在这美丽的湖畔过了个轻松的下午。

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This was our last day at Rotorua and it was sad to leave this beautiful town and the beautiful landscape in the surrounds.  There are so many more places that we haven't explored yet, I surely hope we could come back here for more adventures soon!

这是我们在罗托努阿的最后一天，对这漂亮的小镇和周边的美景十分不舍。我们还有很多地方没有去呢，希望以后有机会可以再来吧！

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&nbsp; <br /><center><hr/><em>Posted from my blog with <a href='https://wordpress.org/plugins/steempress/'>SteemPress</a> : http://stabilowl.vornix.blog/2018/09/19/travelling-with-stabilo-29-lake-taupo-and-lake-rotorua-%e7%bb%8f%e7%ba%ac%e6%b8%b8%e8%b8%aa-29-%e9%99%b6%e6%b3%a2%e6%b9%96%e5%92%8c%e7%bd%97%e6%89%98%e5%8a%aa%e9%98%bf%e6%b9%96/ </em><hr/></center>