A quick stop in Taupo, New Zealand

Sometimes the best travel moments are the simple ones. On the way from Rotorua to Wellington, we stopped in Taupo for a quick break. We got toasties from a tiny place by the lake called Stir Cafe, then ate them while watching the waves (and fighting off seagulls).

Now a bit about the name Taupo (pronounced Toe-paw), it comes from the full Maori name “Taupo-nui-a-Tia,” which means: “The great cloak of Tia.”

Tia was a Maori explorer who discovered the lake and named it after his cloak (“nui” = great, “a” = of, “Tia” = his name).

According to legend, he laid his cloak down on the ground at the spot where he first saw the lake and the name honors that moment.