Taupo

For Royal New Zealand Navy vessels named HMNZS Taupo, see HMNZS Taupo.
Taupo
Taupōnui-a-Tia (Maori)
Secondary urban area
Taupo
Coordinates: 38°41′15″S 176°04′10″E / 38.6875°S 176.0694°ECoordinates: 38°41′15″S 176°04′10″E / 38.6875°S 176.0694°E
Country  New Zealand
Island North Island
Region Waikato
Territorial authority Taupo District
Ward Taupo
Settled pre-European
Founded 1869
Borough status 1953
Named for originates from Taupō-nui-a-Tia, meaning "great cloak of Tia" in Maori
Electorate Taupō
Government
 • Mayor David Trewavas
Area
 • Urban 132.57 km2 (51.19 sq mi)
 • District 6,970 km2 (2,690 sq mi)
Elevation 360 m (1,180 ft)
Population (June 2014 estimate)[1]
 • Urban 23,400
 • Urban density 180/km2 (460/sq mi)
 • District 35,100
 • District density 5.0/km2 (13/sq mi)
Time zone NZST (UTC+12)
 • Summer (DST) NZDT (UTC+13)
Postcode 3330
Area code(s) 07
Local iwi Ngāti Tūwharetoa

Taupo (/ˈtoʊpɔː/, commonly pronounced /ˈtaʊpoʊ/[2]) is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupo District Council and lies in the southern Waikato Region.

Taupo has a population of 23,400 (June 2014 estimate).[1] In 1953, Taupo was officially constituted as a borough,[3] but from 1989 it has been administered by the Taupo District Council, the district including both Taupo itself and the surrounding hinterland. Despite this, it is occasionally referred to as a city. It is the 20th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the second-largest in the Waikato Region (behind Hamilton).

The name Taupo, by which the town is commonly known, is the shortened version of its full name, Taupō-nui-a-Tia. Literally translated from Māori language, Taupō-nui-a-Tia means "The great cloak of Tia", where Tia is the name of the discoverer of the lake.

In 2009 a team of Taupo citizens won the TV2 programme Top Town.[4]

Geography

Taupo is located at the outlet of Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake, in the northeast part of the lake where it discharges to the Waikato River. The river flows over one of New Zealand's most spectacular waterfalls, Huka Falls, a short distance north of the town. Taupo is a centre of volcanic and geothermal activity and hot springs suitable for bathing are located at several places in the vicinity. The volcanic mountain of Mount Tauhara lies six kilometres (4 mi) to the east. Some forested area exists near Taupo, with understory vegetation consisting of certain shrubs and ferns.

Somewhat to the northeast are significant hot springs. These springs are the site of occurrence of certain extremophile micro-organisms, that are capable of surviving in extremely hot environments.[5]

Taupo is situated on a stretch of State Highway 1, running concurrently with State Highway 5. It is situated 53 km North of Turangi. It is one of the few centres in New Zealand that were never linked to the rail network.

The small but growing satellite town of Kinloch, where a Jack Nicklaus golf resort is being constructed, is 20 kilometres west along the lake.

Neighbourhoods

Taupo's neighbourhoods include:

Climate

The climate of Taupo is cold and windy when compared to other parts of the North Island. It is due to the town being located inland which results in the accumulation of dry air causing severe frost during winter. However snowfall in Taupo is rare, although snow fell on August 2011 due to a prolonged cold period in New Zealand. The summer climate in Taupo is mild with maximum average temperature reaching 23 degrees and a minimum average temperature of 10 degrees.

Climate data for Taupo
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 22.7
(72.9)		 22.6
(72.7)		 20.4
(68.7)		 17.2
(63)		 14.1
(57.4)		 11.7
(53.1)		 11.0
(51.8)		 11.9
(53.4)		 13.9
(57)		 15.8
(60.4)		 18.3
(64.9)		 20.7
(69.3)		 16.9
(62.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 17.0
(62.6)		 17.1
(62.8)		 14.9
(58.8)		 12.0
(53.6)		 9.4
(48.9)		 7.4
(45.3)		 6.5
(43.7)		 7.2
(45)		 9.2
(48.6)		 11.1
(52)		 13.1
(55.6)		 15.6
(60.1)		 11.7
(53.1)
Average low °C (°F) 11.4
(52.5)		 11.6
(52.9)		 9.5
(49.1)		 6.8
(44.2)		 4.8
(40.6)		 3.0
(37.4)		 2.1
(35.8)		 2.7
(36.9)		 4.5
(40.1)		 6.4
(43.5)		 7.9
(46.2)		 10.5
(50.9)		 6.7
(44.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 77.3
(3.043)		 67.9
(2.673)		 66.5
(2.618)		 68.4
(2.693)		 74.9
(2.949)		 92.8
(3.654)		 96.0
(3.78)		 87.4
(3.441)		 81.6
(3.213)		 86.2
(3.394)		 67.9
(2.673)		 93.6
(3.685)		 960.3
(37.807)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 7.7 6.7 7.3 7.4 8.7 10.9 10.9 11.4 10.7 10.6 8.2 9.2 109.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 224.3 202.6 179.7 156.3 126.3 96.1 116.5 134.6 140.0 179.6 190.4 204.6 1,950.9
Source: NIWA Climate Data[6]

Economy

Taupo is a tourist centre, particularly in the summer, as it offers panoramic views over the lake and to the volcanic mountains of Tongariro National Park to the south. It offers a number of tourist activities including sky diving, jet boating and paragliding.

Taupo services a number of surrounding plantation pine forests including Kaingaroa Forest, the largest manmade forest in the world, and related industry. A large sawmill is sited approximated 3 km to the north east of the town on Centennial Drive.

The Wairakei geothermal power station is a few kilometres north of the town.

Education

Taupo has three high schools: Tauhara College, Taupo Nui-a-Tia College and state integrated Lake Taupo Christian School. It also has St Patrick's, Waipahihi, Hilltop, Mount View, Taupo and Tauhara primary schools, and Taupo Intermediate School.

Sporting events

Since the mid-1990s Taupo has become increasingly popular as a venue for major sporting events, increasingly of an international nature. The town's compact size, clean environment, central location and supportive council and community have been cited as the reasons for this. Major events in Taupo include:

Annual events

Past events

The International Mountain Bicycling Association has designated the mountain biking trails at Bike Taupo as a silver-level IMBA Ride Center. [7] Ride Centers are the IMBA's strongest endorsement of a trail experience. [8]

One of the main streets of the Taupo CBD, with the Taupo Domain on the left.

Transport

Taupo is served by State Highways SH 1 and SH 5, and the Thermal Explorer Highway touring route. All three highways run concurrently for 11 km from Wairakei in the north, along Tongariro Street and Lake Terrace, to southern Taupo.

Taupo is one of the few large towns in New Zealand that have never had a link to the national rail network (the others being Queenstown and Nelson), although there have been proposals in the past.

Taupo Airport is located south of the township. The airport is served by Air New Zealand subsidiary Eagle Airways, with direct flights using Beechcraft 1900D aircraft to Auckland, Wanganui and Wellington. Air New Zealand is ceasing their Wellington service from April 2015.

Twin cities

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Subnational Population Estimates: At 30 June 2014 (provisional)". Statistics New Zealand. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014. Also "Infoshare; Group: Population Estimates - DPE; Table: Estimated Resident Population for Urban Areas, at 30 June (1996+) (Annual-Jun)". Statistics New Zealand. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Push to get Maori pronunciation right". Television New Zealand. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "Taupo". Encyclopedia of New Zealand (1966).
  4. ↑ "Taupo is New Zealand's Top Town". One News. 5 April 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  5. ↑ C.Michael Hogan. 2010. Extremophile. eds. E.Monosson and C.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment, Washington DC
  6. ↑ "Climate Data". NIWA. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
  7. ↑ http://www.imba.com/ride-centers/current/bike-taupo
  8. ↑ http://www.richmond.com/recreation/article_32482592-e8ba-11e2-83fb-0019bb30f31a.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taupo.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Taupo.