Just outside the town boundaries of Taupo lies the region called ‘Craters of the Moon’. Taupo being a volcanic region, I was curious to see how this area looked. After paying my small ($6) fee, I ventured in to find a sea of green.

When I had heard ‘Craters of the Moon’, I had pictured a lunar landscape akin to what I found on the White Island, not mostly green and brown grasses/ferns and the like. Oh well, I had already started my walk, not like I wouldn’t finish it.

There were a few craters to look at as I walked, quite large in fact. They were in various states of activity – some looked completely dormant while others had bubbling mud pools. All in all, there was quite a lot of activity to the land.

After about 40 minutes of walking the circuit, it ends with an option climb to a good lookout point. From here you can see the craters walk below, Taupo in the distance and Mt. Tauhara off to the left.

All in all, Craters of the Moon left me less than enthused. Part of it was it simply could not compare at all to the spectacular time I had on White Island which has probably ruined me to these smaller volcanic spots. If coming from a perspective of not having seen any volcanic areas on my travels so far, I think this would have been quite neat and very affodable (1/30th the cost of White Island). I enjoyed it for the hour or so easy walk, and the peace and quiet of the area.

After that good uphill walk, I had worked up a bit of an appetite. Just outside the entry area to the Craters was a nice picnic area which I made use of (spicy tuna sandwich, banana and granola bar, yum yum). I had some company during my break, quite a few birds came to look at me quizzically, hoping for scraps. Sorry birds, I’m on a budget!