Day 11 Water, fire and glass

If there is magic in this planet, it is contained in water – Loren Eiseley

We started the day with a spectacular demonstration of the magnificence and power of water at the Aratiatia Dam and Rapids downstream of Lake Taupō on the Waikato River and about 16km from Taupō’s town centre.

Peter and Jackie took us to watch the opening of the dam that transforms a tranquil pool into a foaming, seething mass of agitated water rushing to escape down a narrow channel into the rapids below. The dam opens several times a day to release water from the dam that then falls 28 metres in the space of one kilometre to fill the rapids. The surging rapids have been harnessed to produce environmentally sustainable hydroelectric power.

On the other side of the bridge are the huge gates that are opened to release the water and it’s obviously a sight that is popular with locals and tourists because quite a few people turned up to watch it.

Many a calm river begins as a turbulent waterfall, yet none hurtles and foams all the way to the sea. – Mikhail Lermontov

The background story:

Fun fact: one of the most memorable and exciting scenes in Peter Jackson’s 2013 movie, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, is when the dwarves escape from the captivity of the Elves by hiding in barrels which were thrown down into the stream. For two days the film crew dropped 20 to 25 empty barrels down the rapids every time there was a dam release. (A local company retrieved the barrels safely each time.)

After that exhilarating sight, we went to see, in contrast, a very controlled, calm and steady process at a company called Lava Glass where they blow and mound molten glass to create attractive (and quite pricey) decorative pieces and jewellery.

It was fascinating to watch the master glassmaker, Lynden Over, the gallery’s founder and resident artist, at work. He made it all look so easy which is a tribute to his considerable skill and experience gained over 25 years of working with liquid glass. Each original piece of glass art made in the studio by Lynden or one of his skilled glass workers is inspired by New Zealand’s stunning scenery and landscapes.

Later in the afternoon, we went for a pre-dinner to a lovely cafe bar called Two Mile Bay Sailing Club that has a glorious location right on the edge of Lake Taupō.

Across the road from where we went for dinner later was this very unusual McDonald’s that incorporates a Dakota (DC3.) I can just imagine how excited our four-year-old grandson, Ollie, would be to go to this McDonald’s!

We had dinner at an Indian restaurant in Taupō where the Nepali chef is one of Jackie’s past language students, Ram Prasad. He was thrilled to see her and to tell her what has happened in his life since they last met.

We had a very nice meal and it was a very good way to end another delightful day with the New Zealand Moffats.

Then it was home where we were just in time to witness a beautiful sunset from Jackie and Peter’s verandah that overlooks the river.

The river has great wisdom and whispers it’s secrets to the hearts of men – Mark Twain