Jet Boating to Secret Hot Pools in Taupo – Day 296

Right now we are at The Squeeze which is a hidden spot that you can only go with New Zealand Riverjet.

This morning we are leaving the awesome Base Backpackers in the city centre of Rotorua and we are making our way to Taupo and on the way we’re stopping at NZ Riverjet.

Got my Crocs on.

This is the most squeezed you have been.

There are two options you can do with New Zealand Riverjet you can be doing The Squeeze which is going to a natural geothermal hot pool down a canyon called The Squeeze or you can be visiting a geothermal park called Orakei Korako.

Since we’ve already been to Orakei Korako in the beginning of our trip in Rotorua we are opting for The Squeeze. It’s an adventure that is not to be missed.

The trip starts with a scenic yet super speedy ride on the might Waikato River. The Waikato River is super super long it’s in fact the longest river in New Zealand and I can definitely tell why it’s called the mighty Waikato River. It’s super wide and has a super strong current.

But enough superlatives, let’s talk about Pete. Pete is our driver and guide and along the way he shares the history of the area.

They have a really straight trunk and they will go into a lumber at the timber industry for building supplies.

On top of giving us plenty of historical insights about the area, Pete tells us that we’re gonna get plenty of picture opportunities as well because on the way back he’s gonna kick it up a gear and we’re gonna have a thrill ride so if we want to take some pictures it’s now or never.

And there is really plenty of picture opportunities between the beautiful tree lined river the geothermal land and the stunning huge gorge that we’re finally stopping at.

This is the Tutukau Gorge. This area had a lot of Maori people living here before the coming of the Europeans. it was considered a great place to live. Many reasons, one of them being the thermal ground they could build their houses on top of the thermal ground so it gave them one of the earliest forms of underfloor heating. They could also cook directly in the steam bores so just put their food underneath the ground and just cook without the need for a fire.

The Tutukau Gorge is seriously impressive with gorge walls reaching as high at 15m tall and the further we get into that gorge the more we notice that geothermal activity and as we approach Orakei Korako the geothermal park half of our crew are getting off to visit the park while half of us are going to The Squeeze.

Actually if you want to check out Orakei Korako in another one of our videos just check out the link in the cards above but for us we’re starting our Squeeze.

It’s really squishy as well.

Now we’ve been warned that the water level inside the canyon which is called the Squeeze is a little deeper than the usual. Usually it’s up to knee to waist deep but for us today we’re gonna be up to our necks in it literally.

So the adventure begins.

You can touch the sides on both sides so just take it easy.

The Squeeze is basically a gigantic chasm if you guys remember we actually did an entire episode about a chasm when we were making our way down to Milford Sound in the South Island we’ll link up to the video right now but basically this Squeeze is the epicest adventure to date. Because of the recent rain it is a struggle to make our way through it and we genuinely have to squeeze ourselves through and the water is getting even warmer as we are getting close.

Nearly there Robin you can stop crying now.

Nearly there Laura you can stop crying now.

As we’re finally exited The Squeezing part of the The Squeeze part and making our way up the stream to a waterfall section where we’re gonna spend the rest of our afternoon.

It’s a really fun trek through the native jungle made even more fun by our group.

You might like to do it in couples. Go in there and get your experience under the falls. I’ll come and take some photographs of all of you so go two at a time.

Oh my gosh it’s so hot. It feels really hot.

the waterfall is super powerful and seriously washes us down it’s quite hard to even stand under those waterfall plus it’s super hot at 32 degrees.

Oh God. Oh Robin.

I really have to learn how to walk in those Croc things.

After that insane adventure it’s time to relax in the natural geothermal hot pool at the hot pool at the top of the waterfall. It’s absolutely amazing to bathe in this what feels like a secret spot surrounded by native forest and even the birds have come to check us out.

We spend a good 20 minutes bathing in the hot pool before making our way back through The Squeeze.

Come on.

Robin is having a seriously hard time with those Crocs.

Making our way back through the Squeeze is just as adventurous as it was on the way in and yet again we are up to our necks in the water because of the recent rainfall. Luckily cos the way that the rocks are shaped on the side with the sort of wavy motion there’s lots of natural footholds to help us get through.

For us, this sort of adventure is really starting to feel like business as usual.

So I’m not touching the floor right here whatsoever.

For some reason I just got really hungry all of a sudden.

Yeah I would not mind some food right here.

I know that I mentioned that time before but our entire group is super fun and everybody is super banterful and it makes it such an amazing afternoon.

How long have you guys been together?

Erm, 3 and a half years.

Does he do that all the time?

Yes.

Wrapping up the Squeeze section of our tour we are making our way back toward the jet boat and then we’re picking up the rest of our tour from Orakei Korako where they got the chance to experience this awesome geothermal landscape.

As promised we are in for an amazing adventure ride on the way back. Peter told us when we were making our way toward the Squeeze that we would have plenty of time to take pictures because on the way back we would have no time to take pictures. It’s speedy, it’s 360 spins after 360 spins and its the thrill of a lifetime.

And after a last spin we are finally making it back to the base of New Zealand Riverjet where we’re gonna be grabbing lunch and watch the pictures of the day with the rest of the tour.

That’s what it’s gonna be like.

Excited about it or nervously laughing.

Nervously laughing.