Weekender: Taupo

Ora - garden of wellbeing is well worth a visit. Photo / Supplied

Where? Taupo is an easy weekend getaway from almost anywhere in the North Island, as it's located smack bang in the middle of it. It's 280km from Auckland - about a 3-hour drive.

What to do? What not to do may be an easier question to answer.

If you're a skier but don't need to be on the slopes every minute of every day, Taupo is a good spot to base yourself as there's plenty of good food, activities, sights to see and shopping to keep you happy off-piste - and of course, it is also awash in the all-important hot pools, in which to soak ski-weary bodies.

Two of the biggest and best-known are the AC Baths and Taupo Hot Springs Spa (formerly known as DeBretts) which are both worth a visit, but there are also plenty of smaller - and often free - undeveloped springs and pools all over the place. See nzhotpools.co.nz for more details.

If you want to continue a leisurely pace make a visit to Taupo Museum, and more particularly to the stunning Ora - Garden of Wellbeing. The small but perfectly formed, garden, which won a gold medal at the 2004 Chelsea Flower Show, includes Weta-created geothermal silica pools, fern sculptures and native bush.

If you're looking for something a little more active, get out on gorgeous Lake Taupo.

There are many fishing charter companies if it's fish you're after - and plenty of guides and information available if you want to head back-country to try the world-class fly fishing.

If fishing isn't your thing try a sightseeing cruise. Some of the best - such as on The Barbary (a beautiful wooden yacht, once owned by Errol Flynn) or the MV Waimare - include a visit to the beautiful Maori rock carvings, which are accessible only by boat.

See the awesome Huka Falls via the exhilarating Huka Falls Jet or the more leisurely Huka Falls River cruise.

And if river cruising is your cup of tea, the historical riverboat Waireka meanders up the Waikato River, stopping for a hot swim in the waters of Lake Ohakuri, and a visit to Orakei Korako geothermal area.

For the kids? Try the Volcanic Activity Centre, and then get up close and personal with the real stuff at Craters of the Moon or Orakei Korako; or for something a little different try Huka Prawn Park, where you can feed trout, and fish for prawns.