Taupo & the Central Plateau - New Zealand's North Island - page 527

Information
Taupo i-SITE ( 07-376 0027, 0800 525 382; www.greatlaketaupo.com ; Tongariro St; 8.30am-5pm) Handles
bookings for accommodation, transport and activities; dispenses cheerful advice; and
stocks Department of Conservation (DOC) maps and town maps.
Getting There & Away
Taupo Airport ( 07-378 7771; www.taupoairport.co.nz ; Anzac Memorial Dr) is 8km south of town. Inter-
City and Naked Bus services ( Click here ) stop outside the i-SITE, where bookings can be
made.
Getting Around
Local buses are run by Busit! ( 0800 4287 5463; www.busit.co.nz ) , including the Taupo North
service running as far as Huka Falls and Wairakei, twice daily Monday to Friday.
Hotbus ( 0508 468 287; www.alpinehotbus.co.nz ) is a hop-on, hop-off minibus service around
the town's key attractions. Great Lake Shuttles ( 021 656 424; www.greatlakeshuttles.co.nz ) offers
charter services around the area, and can hook you up with bike hire.
Taxi companies include Taupo Taxi ( 07-378 5100; www.taupotaxi.co.nz ) and Top Cabs ( 07-378
9250; 23 Tuwharetoa St) . Expect to pay about $25 for a cab from the airport to the centre of
town.
There are plenty of shuttle services operating year-round to Turangi and Tongariro Na-
tional Park. Ask at the i-SITE who will best suit your needs as services vary according to
season (ski or hike).
TOP OF CHAPTER
Turangi & Around
POP 3000
Once a service town for the nearby hydroelectric power station, sleepy Turangi's claim to
fame nowadays is as the 'Trout Fishing Capital of the World' and as one of the country's
premier white-water-rafting destinations. Set on the Tongariro River, the town is a shortish
hop for snow bunnies from the ski fields and walking tracks of Tongariro National Park.