Lake Taupo

Lake Taupo is so large — 616 square kilometres — that it takes the eye a moment to register it as a lake rather than a sea. On calm days the southern shore reveals the snow-capped cones of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro reflected in the water, a view that is one of New Zealand's most iconic.

The lakefront in town is well set up for visitors: a promenade runs along the shore, and a shallow bay provides sheltered swimming. Boat trips leave from the marina for Mine Bay, where massive Māori rock carvings — carved in the 1970s by master carver Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell — are visible on the cliffs above the waterline and can only be approached from the water. Sailing, kayaking, and waterskiing are all available from the town beach.

things to do sight
A story
Lake Taupo fills the caldera of a supervolcano whose most recent major eruption — around 186 CE — was the most violent volcanic event on earth in the last 5,000 years. The eruption ejected so much ash and debris that a blood-red sky was recorded by observers in China and Rome who had no idea what had caused it.