I booked 4 nights at the lodge and 3 days of Guided fishing. The fishing was incredible. Jason and…read morehis wife own the lodge. They were incredible hosts. Jason is the best guide I have ever used. He was able to get me into many big fish. I think I caught over 23 large fish 3-7 pounds and another 10 fish in the 1-2 pound range. The accommodations were clean and modern. The food was incredible that Tracy cooked. There were incredibly great hosts and took care of my every need.

In all our worldwide travels, this is the most serene and beautiful setting with upscale…read moreaccommodations that we have ever visited. Do not let the cost scare you off. It's worth every penny. The only problem is you won't want to leave. The rooms are perfectly designed cottages with everything you need, unless a television is something you think you need. There are only 20 river front cottages on the property. Each has a deck with comfortable chairs and steps that lead to a manicured lawn with cushioned chaise lounges at the water's edge. The culinary experience will also impress you. Breakfast and dinner are included and the staff will quickly learn and address you by name. 'Pampered' throughly describes how the management and services teams will make you feel. If you have an opening on your bucket list, fill it with this New Zealand gem. Bravo Huka !!

This lodge is very special. Romantic. Classy. Don't miss…read moreit!! The setting is unbelievable, our room was darling, the food was very good and the staff is perfection! Before you commit to where you want to have dinner, please be sure you explore all possibilities. You can eat in the main dining room or outside on the porch. Those are obvious. After you're there a day you will find out that there are special little places where you can eat as well. Across the way in the winery? Upstairs and outside? Down the lawn across the bridge? So many special places! If you don't want to take the longer 8 hour hike, there is a short one hour hike nearby where you can check out the falls. There's also a Hot Spring nearby so take your bathing suit! We'll definitely go back!!

This place by the Taupo lake is a must visit. It's literally by the lake, you can choose to sit out…read moreby the sand which has a major beach vibe or you can sit inside, which feels like you are on a cruise/boat out on the lake. Parking deck is outside, it's a self service place. They give you buzzers as you order food and drinks and it lights up once your order is ready. It's casual in a classy way. The pizzas were really good. Thin crust, wood-fire and perfect. The drinks also were really good. Mine was a lychee cocktail not for you if you don't like it sweet. I will recommend this place and hopefully revisit.

Don't come here expecting service. No water, napkins etc…read morePizza was good, the buzzer malfunctioned and we waited forever for our food

Came here while road tripping across North Island. There's plenty of free outdoor parking and there…read moreare no reservation required. We had our own swimsuits but paid to rent a towel and a locker. You will get refunded half of the amount you pay once you return the key to the locker and the towel back at the front desk (hold onto your receipt!!). There are 4 hot spring pools, each slightly different in temperature but I highly recommend both bringing over a pair of flip-flops as the walk from the lockers is quite a bit more than expected and then bring a water bottle if you are sensitive to hot temperatures because you will start to sweat especially if you lounge near or under a waterfall they have. You have to pay extra to tour the location but we just paid for hot spring access to swim and it was lovely. Customer service was very polite and they have a coffee shop located inside as well as a small gift shop carrying locally carved jade jewelry!

We stopped here after visiting the Thermal park and huka falls. It was a refreshing way to end the…read moreday. We had our own swim suits but rented a towel and locker. Lockers are in separate rooms by gender so we rented two but I did see people handing bags out to their spouses in the hall. The pools were lovely. There were three pools that get progressively warmer as you get closer to the spring source. The hottest one was about the temp of a hot tub back home. Nice and toasty. There were quite a few people in the pools. The pools have seating areas near the edges which is a nice way to hang and enjoy the warm water. The locker room were clean but sparse. Only one shower and two bathrooms which were not to be used for changing. Not a place to be modest. We were glad we did this. It felt so good. (No pics as I left my phone in the car).

The Ridge hike starts after a 5 minute walk up Bruce road from the Visitor Center and is a short…read moregentle uphill 30-45 minute walk to a nice lookout. The path is well maintained and the alpine flora is lush with great views of the surrounding park making a nice introduction to Tongariro National Park

Free outdoor and natural hot springs to enjoy. Go to the Spa Thermal Park to get access to the…read moreOtumuheke thermal stream that feeds into the Waikato river. From here, you can also do an easy hike to Huka Falls (50 mins one-way) or Aratiatia Rapids (2 hrs one-way). There's a car park at the intersection of Spa Road and County Avenue, but to get closer to the thermal stream, you can continue down County Ave to the end and park at the car park inside the park. From there, you'll do a short 10 minute walk down to the thermal stream. You'll see a bridge with the main pools near the river. This is where most people will be, but if you up a little further uphill, you'll hit a second bridge where it's more private. This area is fenced off though, so it's probably not encouraged to bathe in this part of the stream, although a lot of people still do. The water is pretty hot, so make sure to bring a towel, water to stay hydrated, and a change of clothes for afterwards. Note that there are toilets at the car park, but no changing facilities near the thermal stream itself. Even if you aren't interested in visiting the thermal stream, Spa Thermal Park is well worth a visit to see the stunning scenery of being high up a hill looking down on a large, curved river.

Tons of people, but don't let that discourage you! It's a must-visit free natural hot stream with a…read morebeautiful view/swim of the river. The park's been beautifully designed for enjoying the stream, which is a nice hot 38-39C right under the bridge, and pools down to cooler temperatures further down. It's a great place to relax in a natural setting and meet some people!

This is a short walk to a nice water fall and pool with it Tongariro National Park. The walk is…read moreeasy, paved and has a lookout at the top of the fall and a path to the bottom of the fall.

We engaged a condo on the banks of Lake Taupo for a week…read more Enjoyed this magical area As we planned our New Zealand holiday, it was a no brainer to engage the condo as a base for touring the area Would do again...

This was my second trip around Lake Taupo and without a doubt, both times, one of the prettiest…read moreparts of the North Island drive. This community area is stunning with beautiful lakeside hotels and Airbnb's, fantastic restaurants, and tons of available activities. Mostly what I enjoyed was strolling around the lake edge and admiring the view, but there's actually a lot more options if you have time. There's several companies offering water sports and lake activities, great locations for picnics, and several miles of hiking all around the region. The husband and I were here at the end of winter so we settled with admiring the gorgeous sunset while driving into town and stopping by the lake side and a few vista points before leaving. If you have time, definitely stop by and at least enjoy the view, or better yet actually plan to spend a few days here if you can.