Pyroclastic volcanic plateau on the North Island of New Zealand
Photo: QFSE Media, CC BY-SA 3.0 nz via Wikimedia Commons
The Central North Island region of New Zealand features the Lake Taupo area and the mountain volcanoes of Tongariro National Park, all situated on a volcanic plateau in the middle of the North Island. The lake, famed for its trout fishing and boating, fills the caldera of one of the largest super-volcanoes in the world, in a still active geological region.
Taupo Airport is 8 km south of Taupo town centre and has scheduled flights from Auckland and Wellington.
Read in the guideChoose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Taupo · Regional · TUO
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the closest town to Tongariro NP.

home of the "World's Largest Carrot".
has great views of Tongariro's volcanoes.
home to the only McDonald's where you can dine inside a former plane.
small riverside town.
the country's oldest national park.
Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park is one of the world's great prehistoric rainforests, located in the Central North Island of New Zealand. Spanning 600 km2 (230 sq mi), this park is renowned for being the finest remaining example of New Zealand's giant podocarp forests, offering visitors a glimpse into a Jurassic-era ecosystem.
Mount Ruapehu, within Tongariro National Park, contains the largest ski resorts on the North Island of New Zealand.
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