Taupō has always been somewhere I’ve driven through, stopping only for a quick bite to eat before getting back on the road. This time around it was the destination.
Big hitters like the thermal pools, Huka Falls, and cycling the Great Lake Trails are on the list alongside Taupō’s culture and art.
First, Taupō Museum, situated above the harbour in Tongariro Domain, where once stood a late-19th-century armed constabulary fortification. Tūwharetoa ancestors, Tia and Ngātoroirangi, came across the area which was named by Tia after noticing a cliff face that resembled his cloak, known as a ‘taupō’. Alongside more recent stories in newspaper clippings, there’s information on the lake’s formation, trout fishing (a tourist-attraction since the 1880s), and the timber industry which operated from the 1860s to 1950s. In the Tūwharetoa Gallery the 14-metre, sits the impressive, unpainted waka hewn from a single totara, and beautifully carved koruru (figurehead) and panels. A painting of the lake with Mounts Ruapehu and Ngāuruhoe rising in the background shows a once peaceful spot. The art gallery, in the same building, exhibits original Kiwi art.
Works by local ceramic artist, Judi Brennan await at her L’Arte Café and Gallery. Tucked back off the road, the garden surprises all around. Alongside a shady, cobbled path, a leafless tree has become a work of art, adorned with autumnal ceramic leaves. Metal figures stand below other trees; vibrant ceramic discs and spheres on rods topped with a fish, or other shapes topped with teapots, are perched amongst foliage. Vibrant china flowers bring green hedging to life; birdfeeders, reminiscent of poppies, liven pots of lance-like leaves. The outdoor living room raises a smile thanks to a ‘plump’ sofa and armchair, lamp, table, and fireplace all made of mosaics, including a ‘rug’ on the ground.
The café’s indoor and outdoor seating overlooks the garden and a courtyard, where mosaicked steps lead up to the gift shop/gallery and adjoining pottery studio.
Leaving, I spot another quirky artwork – a large, leafy tree with teapots hanging from its branches. There’s more quirkiness in the serene garden of Lava Glass, owned by award-winning master glass artist, Lynden Over. A circular walk winds past glass artworks: a rainbow; birds with raised beaks; huge, vibrant spheres like beach balls; and colourful spiky lancewoods displayed amongst the real things. A small pond sports a glass fishtrap and lily pads; tiered platters rest on rocks making a tinkling waterfall, and a dinghy holds more spheres, like buoys. Glass-blown flowers resembling anemones add vibrancy to greenery. In the café – the raw raspberry and chia slice and raw mint slice are extremely good!
With 300 different colours used in the glassblowing, the gallery is a kaleidoscope of vivid hues, akin to Aladdin’s Cave. Collections of bowls, vases and paperweights are inspired by local features – the blue and white of Huka Falls, blazing red Taupō sunsets, multi-coloured Rainbow Mountain, and the earthy tones of Desert Road. I watched the latter stages of a bowl being created –
a glowing orange orb of heat that’s softened to be worked into the perfect shape. Back in the gallery, there’s more than a few pieces I’d like to take home…
Street art adorns the laneways of central Taupō, accumulated over the last decade during the Graffiato Festival. With a dedicated walking map, I explore the 80-plus murals that incorporate Maōri themes, native flora and fauna, comic-type characters, and even a ship looking as if it might fall off the wall. It’s a great way to discovering parts of Taupō you might have skipped, while seeing some fantastic talent.
“The blue and white of the Huka Falls, blazing red Taupō sunsets, multi-coloured Rainbow Mountain, and the earthy tones of the Desert Road”
There’s more artwork out on Lake Taupō: the Maōri rock carvings at Mine Bay. Looking like it’s been there a lot longer than 1980, the main carving fills a 14-metre cliff. Water laps at the base of the face of high priest Ngātoroirangi, a navigator of a waka which voyaged from Hawaiki 800 years ago. On his forehead his spiritual eye enables him to talk to his ancestors and see into the future, while 28 lines around his neck and jawbone represent the 28 generations from Ngātoroirangi to Matahi Brightwell, the master carver of the work. The eyes are yet to be completed, purposefully left following tensions over the treaty – Brightwell didn’t want his ancestors to see the world in which we lived. Apparently, he intends to return this year to complete them with paua shell.
To the side of Ngātoroirangi, 23 carvings blend into the rockface, some easier to make out than others. A taniwha, representing those that live in the lake, is in the shape of a lizard; a face depicts the south wind. Another has flames cupped in a hand signifying the warmth sent from Hawaiki in the form of volcanoes to counteract the southerly wind – the legend of how Aotearoa became part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Another legend goes that Ngātoroirangi climbed nearby Mt Tauhara – which can be seen from the cruise – to find a dust-ridden land, so he tossed a totara tree as far as he could in the hope of spreading its seeds. Upon landing, its branches pierced the earth and water spurted from the holes to form Lake Taupō.
Sailing back to the harbour, I decide I should have made Taupō a destination a long time ago. From its creation to the creations of its people, there’s so much to discover.
Words — Eleanor Hughes
