Editing Lake Taupō (section)

== Tourism ==
[[File:Lake taupo landsat.jpg|thumb|200px|left|NASA satellite photo of Lake Taupō]]
[[File: Wharf and small jetty on Lake Taupo at the point where the Waikato River leaves the lake ATLIB 313225.png|thumb|left|Wharf and small jetty where the [[Waikato River]] departs the lake, 1928]]
[[File:01 New Zealand Lake Taupo.jpg|thumb|Māori rock carvings at Mine Bay are over 10 metres high and accessible only by boat or kayak.]]

Tourism is a major component of Taupō's commercial sector. The busiest time for the industry is the high summer season around Christmas and New Year.

The lake area has a temperate climate. Daily maximum temperatures recorded for Taupō range from an average of 23.3&nbsp;°C in January and February to 11.2&nbsp;°C in July,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_maxairtemp_space.prn |title=Mean Daily Maximum Temperatures |publisher=NIWA |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119012616/http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_maxairtemp_space.prn |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref> while the nighttime minimum temperatures range from 11.6&nbsp;°C in February down to 2.2&nbsp;°C in July.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_minairtemp_space.prn |title=Mean Daily Minimum Temperatures |publisher=NIWA |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119012337/http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/data_minairtemp_space.prn |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref> Rain falls in all seasons but is greatest in winter and spring, from June to December.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/rain.prn |title=Mean Monthly Rainfall |publisher=NIWA |access-date=1 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119015842/http://www.niwa.co.nz/sites/default/files/import/attachments/rain.prn |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref>

Taupō hosts the [[Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge]], a cycling tour around the lake which can take anywhere between four and ten hours. [[Skydiving]] is a popular local sport and tourist attraction. Taupō also hosts the ANZCO [[Ironman Triathlon|Ironman]] event.

Crossing the 40.2&nbsp;km length of the lake is a challenge for open-water swimmers. In 2020, Michael Wells from Darwin, Australia, was the first to breaststroke across the lake.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-19/darwin-man-breaststrokes-new-zealands-lake-taupo/11874820|title='Exhaustion, exposure, hypothermia' all possible in Lake Taupo record swim|last=Byrne|first=Conor|date=19 January 2020|publisher=ABC News|language=en-AU|access-date=27 February 2020}}</ref>

===Māori rock carving===
On the north-west side of Lake Taupō on the cliffs of Mine Bay, there are Māori rock carvings created in the late 1970s by [[Matahi Whakataka-Brightwell]] and John Randall. Carved in the likeness of [[Ngātoro-i-rangi]], a navigator who guided the Tūwharetoa and Te Arawa tribes to the Taupō area over a thousand years ago according to [[Māori mythology|Māori legend]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022 |title=Ngātoroirangi Mine Bay Māori Rock Carvings |url=https://www.lovetaupo.com/en/see-do/art-maori-culture/mine-bay-maori-rock-carvings/ |access-date=1 March 2023 |website=www.lovetaupo.com}}</ref> The 10-metre-high carving is intended to protect Lake Taupō from volcanic activities underneath. The cliff has become a popular tourist destination with hundreds of boats and yachts visiting the spot yearly.

===Māori tribes===
Lake Taupō is a [[taonga]] (treasure or something special to the person) of [[Ngāti Tūwharetoa]] from the Te Arawa waka. Ngāti Tūwharetoa owns the bed of the lake and its tributaries. They grant the public free access for recreational use.<ref>{{cite press release| title=New deed of settlement for Lake Taupo | url=http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-deed-settlement-lake-taupô}}</ref>