Travels WithJohn and Janice

Travel blog

Every trip we've shared since 2011—filter by where we went, when we traveled, or what we explored.

Showing 2 of 236 posts

Arriving in Taupo on the central North Island of New ZealandNew Zealand
4 min read2015

Dateline January 27, 2015, Taupo and the Ambleside B&B

Out of Auckland and south to Taupo, with a stop at Rotorua along the way for the geysers and the mud cauldrons and the rest of New Zealand's small-Yellowstone thermal show. We arrived at the Ambleside B&B in Taupo and were met by our hosts, Pat and Russell Jensen, who poured us tea and wine and sat with us for an hour while we got to know them. They had raised two sons on a deer and sheep farm near Hawke's Bay and sold the farm twenty years ago to build this place. Russell's story of getting out of the venison business after Chernobyl, the Norway lamb paradox, the hawks that pick off the lambs at birthing time. Dinner at a lakeside restaurant down the hill at sunset. The next day we played Wairakei and came back to the hot tub — heated by the geothermal water that runs under the property, so hot it takes a hose of cold water to cool it down to soak in. Pat did our laundry for a nominal fee. Two nights here. Off to Huka Falls and then on to Kinloch and the Jack Nicklaus course.

#new-zealand#taupo#rotorua
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Entry to the course at Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary, Taupo, New ZealandNew Zealand
3 min read2015

Dateline January 28, 2015, Golf at Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary

A ten o'clock tee time at Wairakei Golf and Sanctuary, just up the road from Pat and Russell's place in Taupo. The course is owned by a wealthy Taupo dairy farmer the locals refer to as Smiley, because no one has ever seen him smiling. The course was designed by the British architect Commander John Harris, who routed it through one of the most active geothermal landscapes in the country. It was in the world top 100 in the 1970s, fell on hard times for years, and has been pristine since Smiley took it over. The entire course is fenced as a wildlife sanctuary, to keep out the rodents that would eat the kiwi birds and other native species. You drive your cart up to a gate, the gate opens, and you are in. Beautiful entry, beautiful Maori totem at the gate, and a round of golf with pheasant, quail, and the occasional mother bird and chick wandering across the fairway. Back to Ambleside for another evening with Pat and Russell.

#new-zealand#taupo#wairakei
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