Dam Prawns in Taupo

Sunday December 13, 2009

We just returned from Carols in the Park in Taupo. It was cool to sing Christmas Carols in our shorts, sitting on the grass. The kids got to take part in their first LOLLY SCRAMBLE. Santa came out and threw lollies to the huge crowd of kids. We were worried that they might get trampled and not get any but they each came out with 3. They were really proud of their accomplishment in the ruck. We learned tonight that Noel is spelled Nowell!! Something was lost in translation.

It was a fairly big day for us adventurers today. We started by watching the dam open here. The kids were amazed at how the water rushed down the rocky canyon and covered the rocks they had just seen uncovered. As the water was rushing, Bridget announced, “ Let the water rumpus begin!” Thank you Where the Wild Things Are for that connection. We had to run to the lookout to catch the action as the hooter had gone and we knew that the dam was opening shortly. Nothing like a jog through the bush with your sandals on. Amelia’s job was to figure out why there was a dam in the first place and eventually she did. It is for hydro electricity.

Next we were off to the Huka Prawn Farm. First off, the kids had no idea what a prawn was! We did the tour to see the breeding tanks of the prawns, and we got to feed the baby prawns. They really tickled as they climbed over our hands and arms. There were some kid activities to climb. Amelia ran the gauntlet of water and stayed dry. We fed trout in the Waikato river. There was some big fish. I got to eat some tasty prawns for lunch and Amelia even tried some. The true highlight of this day was prawn fishing! We were given some line on a piece of bamboo and off we went. The bait was oxtail. The vegetarian loved this part of putting it on the hook. We sat by the warm water ponds and tried our luck at catching these tasty beasts. Well the fisher girl of the day was Dianne. She struck first and landed a 10cm one. We even managed to get it off the hook. We placed it in our icy bucket of water, which was supposed to put it to sleep. But it never fell asleep, so it became the play toy of Bridget and myself. We sat patiently for almost 2 hours and only Dianne caught another one. A much smaller one though. It was tough for the girls not to be successful at this but I’m sure they will have lots of stories of all the prawns that got away. Their mood lighten when Dianne had to hold up her catch for a picture and she screamed and dropped it when the prawn jumped. We all really enjoyed our day.

Carolyn