If I told you that you had a beautiful body (of water), would you hold it against me?
Taupō certainly has one of those. Fifty-nine cubic kilometres of shimmering blue, trout-laden, volcanic lake.
I mean, have you ever seen a postcard of Taupō that didn't include quite a lot of that 25,000-year-old caldera? However, it is Taupō city (or town) that has just received recognition as the MOST beautiful.
Taupō took out the Supreme Towns and Cities Award at the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards in November — mostly for the town's commitment to climate change and sustainability initiatives but also because it's... well... pretty!
The question is, is it just its proximity to the largest freshwater lake in the Southern Hemisphere that gives Taupō its beauty? Or does it have more to boast about?
Maybe it's the public art and sculptures dotted around a town that is becoming a real enclave for artists.
Jo Brennan of L'Arté Café & Gallery, whose Acacia Bay gallery and eatery showcases the ceramic work of her and her mother Judi, said that the surroundings of the town are a real inspiration for artists. Brennan's art is legendary, attracting visitors from all over the world. The food's pretty damn good, too.
Taupō might be known for its stunning shades of blue before now but maybe that's because of its lack of green.
Rachel Thompson of Greening Taupō said that what the area was lacking was a lot of native bush.
Over the last 10 years, Greening Taupō and its junior division, Kids Greening Taupō, have planted 300,000 trees to bring back some biodiversity. Many of those corridors of bush are near schools and daycare centres giving the kids some real responsibility as custodians of the land.
It's this kind of community project that has transformed Taupō from a completely lake-centred town.
'Didymo Dave' who has dedicated his life to protecting the lake from invasive species (hence the nickname) is now turning his attention to the land.
"We are not just focussed on our backyard — this whole area is our backyard," said the passionate local who now drags any volunteers he's able to corral into any number of civic beautification projects.
A cynic might call all this a 'rebrand'. A lake town desperately attempting to prove that it's more than that.
The thing is, who cares if it is? Taupō's award came from its holistic approach to beauty, looking at the whole picture, not just the postcard ones.
SHARE ME