A weekend away

I recently traveled up to Taupo for a family weekend getaway. Despite being the middle of winter we had gorgeous blue sky and sun all weekend, although it wasn’t quite warm enough for shorts or a swim in the lake.

The town of Taupo is located in the center of the North Island, on New Zealand’s largest lake, Lake Taupo; and is set against the beautiful backdrop of Tongariro National Park and it’s three main Mountains; Mount Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro.

The center of the North Island is a geographic and adventure wonderland; with mountains, lakes, parks, natural springs, geothermal activity, bungy jumping, sky diving, luging and more all within a few hours radius.

Having said this, my family and I engaged in none of the above. We simply spent the weekend enjoying our beautiful surroundings and the great company. It was the first time all the cousins and grandparents have gotten together in a few years now so it was nice to just enjoy being all together again.

Throughout the weekend my family laughed at me as I dragged behind, snapping pictures wherever we went.

“You’re becoming a tourist in your own country,” they teased.

“I go to all these amazing other places and take heaps of pictures, but I never have any pictures of my own country to show people…and New Zealand is just as beautiful as anywhere else I’ve been,” was my response.

And it’s true. I’ve travelled to some truly beautiful places and have never let my camera (phone) out of my sight. Whenever I’m overseas I’ll take pictures of anything…I even have pictures of the bathrooms in Singapore airport from one of my first overseas trips in high school…yet usually when I’m at home I won’t think to snap a picture of the scenery.

My family and I have been travelling to Taupo for family holidays ever since I was little, and although we didn’t get up to too much this weekend, we have a few family favourites when it comes to things to do. As well as just being a weekend for everyone to get together, we also used it as an excuse for a belated celebration of myself and my cousin’s 21st birthdays. A 21st is a big deal in New Zealand so it was nice to be able to celebrate with the whole family.