A Weekend of Bathing

My weekend travels brought me to Lake Taupo this weekend, the biggest lake in New Zealand and the lake that separates the geothermally active Rotorua/Taupo region for the Tongariro Mountains (Think Mt. Doom). My traveling companions for the weekend were a few of my globalinks friends; one of whom goes to school with me and two that are studying in Auckland. We headed up to Taupo not really knowing what to expect, but I figured that it would be a little bit less expensive and a bit more relaxing than my previous weekend's trip to the Bay of Islands.

Upon arrival, Jeff, one of the guys from Auckland, had expressed some interest in checking out the hot springs in the area. This had not even crossed my mind, but sounded good to me. So we set out to check out the local hot springs scene. This would end up consuming us for the next couple of days. We ended up renting a car to go check out hotsprings all over Taupo and its outskirts. We even got up before the sun one morning for a little sunrise bath.

Much of the rest of the weekend was spent simply admiring the great Lake Taupo. It has some of the clearest water that I have ever seen, as well as some of the bluest. No wonder it is world famous for the trout that swim in it!

All in all, it was a pretty relaxing weekend. It is really fun getting to travel and see a lot of new places. But it is definitely exhausting too (hence the brief post!). Here are a few more Taupo pictures.

 Huka Falls-Look how blue the water is

 Looking across the lake at the menacing Tongariro Mountains

 Sunrise over the fields-No wonder they call it the Land of the Long White Cloud

Geothermal pond


On another note, I figured that I would let you guys know that I'm not completely out of the loop as far as US news. I just registered for my absentee ballot in fact.

But one issue caught my attention and I think I finally have an opinion on it. Boston needs Chick Fil A. I don't think that Chick Fil A was wrong to say what they said, nor do I believe that Mayor Menino was wrong to fight back. But one thing that I do know is that Chick Fil A needs to come to Boston. And the video of the 2 hour line at the Burlington Mall shows that I'm not alone. This is America, Chick Fil A can say whatever they want to. They may not like the PR results, but that is their decision. You have to respect them for being firm in their beliefs. So somebody get Menino a chicken biscuit. We need Chick Fil A.