The Three Day Taupo Thunder (2 of 4): The Cliffhanger Swing & De Bretts Spa

Yes folks, I'm still alive... I am quickly typing this now before I hit my one month mark. There goes all attempts to get back into the flow of things and churn out a blog once a week or at least every two weeks. This real life thing just doesn't rhyme with my chosen lifestyle.

Anyway, let me tell you all about my attempt at the Cliffhanger Swing and our quick splash into the De Bretts Spa.

Taupo Bungy: The Gates of Doom hehe

After the drive to the caves and seeing our tiny glowworm friends, we were off for another two and half hour drive to the heart of Taupo and our room at the Hilton Hotel.

Driving into Taupo reminded me of a bigger version of Bangor in Northern Ireland. The place has a very resort feel to it. Probably because of the proliferation of inns, motels, hotels, travel and activity agents that lined the lake. The buildings were low, the town proper gave you a very distinct community feel, and I was absolutely in love with the colors. Unlike Bangor though, it doesn't give you the sea, you get a lake instead. And while Taupo can be famous for its trout fishing, the place doesn't feel like it lives and breathes fish.

Taupo in autumn is like jumping into a rustic fall landscape print from Currier and Ives. The colors, remind you of home and hearth, of a cottage in the hills, hot chocolate, and finding yourself in this little getaway spot where no one can rupture your Zen.

The nice thing about Taupo in this season, is that the weather is pretty mild. It was about 17C when we went. There were light winds, and light drizzles that went away soon enough to make room for sunshine that casts this nice golden glow on everything without burning your skin or blinding you from its brightness. In the mornings, you even get the light fog / mist that partially covers the hills and gives everything this slightly dreamy look, like the place is inviting you to snuggle in and order room service for breakfast in bed.

I truly wish we had stopped at some point during the drive to take a few pictures, but PIC was getting antsy and was hoping for a nap, so we sped off to the hotel.

Our Room at the Hilton Taupo

While driving, we saw sign after sign after sign saying "no vacancies," "full," tacked onto hotel / motel / inn doorways and their main signposts. Even as we walked into our hotel's main reception, we saw guests being turned away if they had not made any prior arrangements. Seriously folks, it was Easter weekend. Do you really think you can just pick up and go and expect to have something available on THE closing long weekend for summer?

So we checked in and having already fallen in love with the place on first sight, managed to extend our stay for an extra night for only NZD 30 more than what we originally paid for our first night. The Hilton Hotel was understated classy that made me feel like a Southern Belle going home to the family estate back when Scarlet O'Hara was still belle of the ball.

I loved how simple everything was and how there were black and white photos lining the walls everywhere. Always a plus for me even if I hardly get the chance to use them, was the presence of a nice heated infinity pool, probably less than 20m, but good for a nice dip whenever you felt like it. Our room was in the heritage wing of the hotel (which meant older) and I absolutely loved it. It just feels like it had so much character!

Manny pre Mosley Fight Prep :P

Now having said that, our room was very modern, it was ginormous, with a king sized bed, flat screen TV on the wall that showed Manny Pacquiao within the first few minutes of opening it. Our bathroom could have easily fit a double bed in it with a long shower closet on the side and a tub on the other. The shower had his and hers shower heads and a rain shower fixed into the ceiling in the middle -- i thought this was cute. Unfortunately, opening the rain shower or the other shower head while the other one was on meant less water for everyone. Still, they had Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries which was another plus and something I have noticed is becoming quite the norm amongst hotel these days. So if everything was so spiffy and new, where is the character you ask?

Our Private Terrace and A View of the Lake

The character my dear Watson, is in the continuation of the framed B&W photos on the wall, the color palette on the walls, furniture and carpets, and in that private terrace with a small table and chairs outside with a view of the lake. Seriously, we were in vacation heaven.

So the hotel gets an "A" from fussy me, and we proceed to unpack. Well, I unpacked, and PIC was snoring within minutes of hitting the bed. I set our alarm for 6pm and channel surfed while I waited for it to ring and remind me that I need to get our butts next door to the spa and get our massages.

From the main entrance

6 P.M. comes along and I bully PIC into getting up and getting ready. Packed an extra change of clothes, our wallets, swim gear, and a towel and we were off. Again, we had pre-booked our massage before even arriving just to make sure that we got a slot. This was a good thing as the place was jammers as well.

The pools

Now to be honest, I wasn't too impressed with the place. It was old, with pools close together, with different color water in them (yes, you read right, different colored water per pool) and lots of old people soaking their aching joints. There were lockers to one side on the right and the pools (I counted four) were on the left. The spa center was a tiny room in the middle.

I was thinking, OMG how sanitary are these pools?? But here, I might be making it sound worse than it is. In all honesty, I think the pools are ok and clean. After all, they are mineral soaks in high temperatures which would explain the different colored water. I guess, the little princess in me was just iffy with how everything was laid out. It just felt so 1980s for some reason.

the private pools

Our Room / Pool

So our massage includes, entrance to the spa, free use of the facilities and the actual massage. We went in, let them know we were there and signed up. The nice lady at the counter said we still had 20minutes and suggested we go for a soak first to relax our muscles. She gave us a nice big thick fluffy towel each (+1 point for the spa for not using the tiny cheap ones that barely cover your bum) and explained how the pools are arranged by temperature -- hotter ones closer to the entrance, cooler ones further inside. She also gave us possibly the best tip of the evening though and suggested we go to the private pools just outside the main area, at the end of a small pathway to the right of their main reception.

Appreciate the notice on the doors

We said our thanks, stepped out of the Spa and took one look at the geriatric crowd at the first two pools and made a beeline for the private ones. Now not entirely sure what to expect, we were pleasantly surprised to find a row of doors with signs on them saying how hot each private pool was and the suggested times for soaking in them. Hesitantly nudging a door open, I was elated to find, indeed a small private room, with a pool, and a small bench on the side for your things, and hooks on the walls for your towels. Plus, the door had a hook lock on it, which meant we can have the room all to ourselves! Yippeeee and +50 pts to spa lady for pointing us in this direction! The top parts of these rooms were partly open so you can still hear muffled echoes of conversations from other rooms, but I was so relieved to be able to soak in peace without having grandma or grandpa watch me while I wiggle my toes in the water.

Fifteen minutes pass and we were ready for our massages. PIC and I both had the same reactions, while the masseuses were nice, we felt that they weren't firm enough to completely drive out our kinks, but its been a long day. We've had a nice soak in the thermal mineral pool, and got a nice enough rub, so in the end we were still happy.

The next day, was the big event. After breakfast, we were off to Taupo Bungy for my Cliffhanger Swing.

The Swing Rig

Again folks, you will get tired of hearing me say this, but PRE-BOOK! And ideally, do it with the main place itself vs a tour agent. Upon arrival, again, same story of people being turned away as they are full, and even travel groups being turned away! I am guessing these travel agents just take it for granted and forget to pre-book slots and chance it with their guests. But can you imagine paying for a full day's activities included shoving yourself off a cliff and not getting the experience because of a lazy tour agent? Tsk. So anyway, I queued and it when it was my turn, was almost told to come back again, but was eventually given a number and ushered in after I waved my booking confirmation in the attendant's face. C'mon folks, I had to lobby for myself here, Taupo isn't exactly just around the corner from Auckland you know.

Waiting for the the swing to open

So there I was in line for a swing. Why the swing? I just thought I'd get more hang time out of it as it gives you two big swings while the bungy gives you just the one free fall and tug. Don't get me wrong though, I am still planning on doing a bungy, but was thinking doing it off the Harbour Bridge instead of in Taupo.

Anyway, I was third in line, with the first four people ahead of me were doing tandems. The first tandem was a couple, and the next one were two teenage girls who looked like they were BFFs. While the couple gets strapped in, the taller of the girls turns to me and asks if I wanted to go first and I take the chance. I mean, why not? I'm doing it anyway, might as well get it over with so we can move onto our next activity for the day.

See teenage girls on the stairs?

So then it was my turn. I was strapped and ready to go after three safety checks on my harness, and a check on the lines. The man on the side kept the conversation rolling then asked me to look at a plastic bottle down in the river and off I went in mid-sentence while I was telling him I couldn't find the fecking bottle.

What bottle?

It was exhilarating. I've always loved swings on the playground and trying to go as high as I can. Swinging in reverse, standing up on the seat, and trying out all the stunts I see all the bigger boys do. So doing this was like a mega amped up, turbo charged swing. The nice bit was that you can let go and it will let you dangle upside down and still swing you across the river! It was amazing! But the blood was rushing to my head and I had to grab onto my lead and sit up again. After two big swooshes, the swing loses its momentum and I can feel myself slowly being pulled back up.

The whole thing took less than three minutes. It took more time to strap me in, do the checks, pull me back up, and unstrap me. But I still think its worth getting that adrenaline rush and that sense of "I'm alive and I can conquer the world!" pumping through your veins.

And away I go...

If you think this isn't for you as you're too afraid of heights, well just don't look down haha. Once you're in full swing, you'd only be a few feet off the water anyway so it wouldn't really be that high after all ;)

Also Visit:

The Hilton Hotel - Lake Taupo, NZ

De Bretts Spa - Taupo Hot Springs