Today was one of those lighter travel days that still somehow managed to feel massive. We started the morning by swapping locations in Taupล, and since we were already venturing across the region, we stopped to take in one of the most dramatic stretches of water weโve seen so far.
Morning: Watching the Waikato Turn Wild
Our first stop was the Huka Falls section of the Waikato River that unreal bright blue water surging through a narrow volcanic gorge. The colour alone looks fake, like someoneโs poured luminous food colouring into the rapids, but itโs all natural. The water here moves at 220,000 litres per second, which is probably the exact speed Georgia can run when she hears the words โplayground aheadโ.
We leaned over the railings watching the river thrash and whip itself into whitewater, and Dotty loved every second of the noise and movement. The power of it is unreal โ one of those moments you just stand still and take in.
Later on we made our way to the Aratiatia Dam to watch the controlled release. If youโve never seen it before, it starts with a calm, empty rock bed almost peaceful. Then the sirens sound, the dam gates open, and within minutes the entire gorge turns into a roaring torrent.
The whole thing looks like a fantasy movie set coming to life. Which is fitting, because it actually was a movie set.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug filmed the famous barrel escape scene right here. The crew dropped dozens of empty barrels into the rapids during each release, then later replaced them with CGI dwarves. Safety note: apparently not a single actor got wet. We can confirm that wouldnโt be the case if it were us.
We watched the water rise and accelerate, filling the gorge like someone hit fast-forward on nature. Georgia kept pointing out how fast the water changed.
By the time the surge settled into full flow, the river didnโt even look like the same place weโd arrived to an hour earlier.
Another simple but brilliant day on the road.
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