In The Middle of Nowhere, a Slice of Paradise

In the center of the North Island, in an area ringed by volcanoes and just hours from the "playground" of Lake Taupo, we found Kakahi.  This rural hamlet was built on hope, hope that the gold rush would bring a train line and prosperity with it. It once had two stores, a bakery, a post office, and a population of 600, but like many such places, the promised railroad never came. 

But what a sweet, quiet place.  Its one remaining business is the general store (photo below) that serves as the post office, liquor outlet, pharmacy, and hardware purveyor.  It's run by an 80 year old fellow whose father emigrated from India and started the store, then bought out his competitor when the local population and business declined.

We stayed on a farm recently purchased by a Kiwi couple who had just moved back from Australia, where they had lived and worked for 30 years.  Our "cottage" had been the leather works for the previous owner who made saddles. The bedroom was separate from the living and kitchen area, with a room in between that served as a yoga studio.  The toilet and outdoor shower were around the back.

It was definitely a "black sky" kind of area; the stars and Milky Way were sparkling (as seen in our middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom!). As you'll see below, we used Kakahi as a base to do some great hikes, one in an old podocarp forest (podocarps are trees with a form of cone, but not like our pines) and one in National Park at the foot of Mt. Tongariro (many people come to the area to do the 19km Tongariro Alpine Crossing ... we didn't!).

Hope you get a hint of this special place from these photos...

The views on the farm, like this one, were enchanting

The outdoor shower "stall"

"Plush" outdoor furniture for relaxing mornings

Stunning sunsets

When clouds cleared, great views of Mt. Tongariro, as well as its companions Ngauruhoe (actually a secondary cone of Tangariro) and Ruapehu

Kakahi's general - and all things - store

Some beautiful countryside

One of the many, many "pongas" or tree ferns on our hike, this one maybe 40 feet high

On our hike in a dense podocarp forest near Kakahi

Pool reflections

On our hike in National Park

Tongariro watched over us ... it's a majestic mountain which sports a cable car and ski slopes.  We had planned to take the cable car up to the top to hike, but strong winds shut it down that day.

The destination of our hike, this picture-perfect waterfall