Last week we went kayaking and switched to bike riding in the afternoon. Today we did the same thing in reverse. The two activities make a nice combination because they use different muscle groups. In the morning, we wanted to try out the two e-bikes that came with our Airbnb rental, so we took a nice easy ride on the lakeshore path. It’s shared with pedestrians so you can’t ride too fast, and it offers beautiful views across the water.

After returning the e-bikes and checking out of our room, we spent the rest of the morning in Taupo picking up a few pieces of gear needed for our big hike tomorrow, then had lunch at a place that offered a variety of meals built around savory waffles — a surprisingly good idea. Finding that we had a bit of time left before our afternoon kayaking tour, we checked out the local municipal park. It had once been a geothermal spa, even boasting a large geyser. The heat has moved elsewhere today but it still offers picturesque views of the Waikato River. We were not too far upstream of Huka Falls, and lots of very stern signs warned boaters to pull out of the river before reaching the point of no return.

Fortunately, our own kayaking plans for the afternoon didn’t involve going anywhere near dangerous waterfalls. After a short drive along the shores of the lake to nearby Acacia Bay, we left our rental car in possibly the most panoramic parking spot we’ve yet to come across.

Our group of six kayakers turned out to be all Americans, even the guide. Unlike the trip to Whangamata (Donut Island), where we used sit-on-top kayaks, this time we had sit-in models with spray skirts to keep the water out. It was a good thing too, because the wind was blowing up some pretty big waves that sometimes washed over the top. In fact, the water became so rough as we rounded a point into an upwind stretch that the guide made the call not to continue further — a good idea since one of the other boats in our group was struggling a bit with the conditions. Instead we beached the kayaks and continued a bit farther on foot until we reached a small harbor where we had hot drinks and muffins.

On the way back our guide told us some Maori stories about the local landscape. One centered around a mountain that was said to be a pregnant woman lying on her back.

Back in our car, we hit the road headed toward our next lodging in Turangi. We stopped for dinner on the way out of town at the Two Mile Bay Yacht Club, a lakefront restaurant that seemed a favorite with locals and recommended by our Airbnb host. The place was hopping — almost all the tables were full, a singer was playing live music, the view was stupendous, and the sun lit everything up in gold. We both ordered “toasties”, which turns out to be a grilled sandwich something like a panini.

One other fun detail about the restaurant: in the parking lot was this truck full of dogs. They were very well trained, never leaving the bed of the truck, and would happily greet anyone who happened to walk by. Perhaps they enjoyed the whole scene as much as we did!

The drive to Turangi along the lakeshore was perfectly timed with the setting sun. Ahhhh…