Taupo: No adrenalin required

Sail Fearless on Lake Taupo. Photo / Supplied

Fresh local fare, a gentle massage and thermal valleys -- Catherine Smith takes it easy.

People who know me, know I tend to bang on about Tourism New Zealand's insistence on flogging that tired old Hobbit/Middle Earth horse, with a spot of bungy jumping and jet boats thrown in, maybe a winery. Where's mention of our gorgeous fresh food? Things to do that don't involve adrenalin or tattoos?

I had to eat my words.

We were bobbing out on Lake Taupo on a blustery spring day on the good sailing ship Fearless. Fellow passengers, backpackers from Italy and Argentina were thrilled when our skipper, Dave, pointed to the distant Ruapehu and Tongariro.

"Mordor," they gasped in unison. Dave, his market sussed, reeled off all the other locations from Those Movies they could visit while they were in the Great Lakes area and I learned that there's still mileage in that franchise.

Sadly, it was too blustery a day to safely make the planned trip to the Maori rock carvings on the far side of the lake at Mine Bay, but it was great fun to blast along the water under full sail, racing a fellow yacht, Barbary, as we circled out to Acacia Bay and back, then motored gently back to our berths admiring the booming real estate scene on the edge of the lake.

It's been years since I've stopped in Taupo for more than a coffee, but it appears the town has certainly benefited from the thundering state highway traffic being diverted. The lakefront is much more pedestrian friendly, there are more than just the big brand food places on the waterfront and the whole town has a gentle and prosperous air to it, smartly landscaped and busy.

While my favourite oriental rug shop has moved online, the food-loving husband could still browse and dream at the extraordinary Chef's Complements cook store.

Good, fresh, local food was a happily recurring theme of our weekend. To set us up, on our drive down, we'd stopped at new (to us) cool joint in Cambridge, Paddock. Complete with bike riders (athletes, these, as the Avantidrome is nearby), street-side herb garden, happy staff and super-fresh, it will become our pit stop for future trips south.

Best of all, there are plenty of gentle pursuits to enjoy in Taupo, no adrenalin required. I guess I'd not been paying attention to the Maori myth of the line of fire that was carried from Hawaiki for tohunga Ngatoro-i-rangi from White Island across the North Island that meant so many thermal springs around Taupo and Tokaanu, along with Tongariro puffing away. The beautifully landscaped hot springs at Wairakei Terraces are a divine reminder of the long-practised Maori healing traditions of the silky silica-rich mineral pools and the beautiful plant-based therapies. While my massage therapist was a gentle Irish woman, she used oils and balms made from secret recipes developed by kuia. The pools are set in native plant gardens, there are birds everywhere, the spirits are soothed.

North of Taupo, we turned off to the Orakei Korako thermal valley. It's one of those signs you blast past driving north or south, but we were delighted we'd made the 20-minute diversion. We'd had no idea that this is one of the country's largest geyser fields with beautiful pink silica terraces steaming away on the banks of the Waikato River. Sadly Lake Ohakuri, formed when the Atiamuri hydro dam was built down river, has obscured some of the earliest tourist spots, but our guide James was keen to talk us through the history of the striking places still there. Puttering across the river in a tiny ferry starts the magic, before you hike across the moonscape (James knows each geyser and pool by name and habit), duck through bush to spot deep caves and admire the whole scene from a high lookout. It's a charming place that is finally getting some time in the spotlight, courtesy of Tourism New Zealand publicity.

All that good thermal action is put to good use closer to town at the Huka Prawn Park. I'd never quite understood the buzz about this place -- what do prawns have to do with Taupo? -- but sitting on the terrace overlooking the river, lunching on a bucket of the pink beauties and I stopped worrying. The park was built up since the 1980s from initial ponds heated by the water. The company now has an impressive operation each year producing five tonnes of Giant Malaysian river prawns for the huge restaurant and for happy punters to fish. There's a terrific hatchery tour, pretty walks and gardens, a whole days' entertainment for families. The company has really hit the mark with Chinese tourists, who know a thing or two about fresh seafood.

Super-fresh local flavours seemed to be a bit of a theme for us -- from the hearty big breakfast at the L'Arte Cafe, famous for its mosaic sculpture gardens with the Acacia Bay suburbs steadily growing around it. A dinner at The Brantry was more formal, but again, full of great fresh flavours and locally produced ingredients (that Taupo beef deserves its own branding). We didn't have time to check out the cool burger place Pauly's Diner but loved the coffee and hip arts scene at The Storehouse cafe in the midst of industrial Runanga St.

With or without hobbits, this is a town I'd happily make a regular weekend getaway.

Drive: Since attending a lecture earlier this year about driverless cars, I'd been longing to try one. The smart new Ford Mondeo we borrowed for the weekend may well be the closest thing right now.

We hooked up the iPhone and set the car to cruise and follow.

We didn't have to brake between Cambridge and Taupo - it was that automatic.

Catherine was a guest of Great Lake Taupo.