Mel Webley presents PM Jacinda Ardern with the gift of a scented candle during Ardern's tour of the Taupo town centre.
It started with a refreshing stroll along Taupō's lakefront, takeaway coffee in hand.
It finished with a meeting with the Tuaropaki Trust at its geothermal Mokai Power Station, the inspection of a new hydrogen pilot project and a policy announcement.
Along the way, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's visit to theTaupō district featured hi-vis vests and hard hats, strangers wanting selfies, people calling out "thank you for looking after us" and the odd loud, long toot from passing vehicles.
Ardern's day started just after 9am where, accompanied by Taupō district mayor David Trewavas and Taupō District Council staff, as well as Waiariki MP Tamati Coffey and Labour's Taupō candidate Ala' Al-Bustanji, she took a stroll of a kilometre or so along the newly-revamped Great Lake Walkway along Taupō's foreshore.
The pathway upgrade is a $4.16 million eight-month project completed just in the nick of time for her visit, with council staff still out planting the evening before and scrubbing new decked areas in the morning.
Ardern stopped along the way to read some of the stories of the local area and view the cultural motifs designed by artist Kingi Pitiroi, before finishing at Kaiwaka Point, where she was greeted by members of local hapū and landowners Waipāhīhī C75 Trust, and cut a ribbon to officially open the walkway.
PM Jacinda Ardern walks along the newly-revamped Great Lake Walkway in Taupō with Taupō district mayor David Trewavas (left) and Taupō candidate Ala' Al-Bustanji. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
Ardern then journeyed to the Taupō town centre where she and Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods viewed the first part of the Taupō town centre transformation project, a four-stage overhaul of the town centre.
The project has been awarded $20.6m of Government shovel-ready funding and is expected to create 92 jobs.
Site manager Shannan Bell (left) of Camex Civil guides Megan Woods and PM Jacinda Ardern through the Taupō town centre transformation project. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
During her tour through the Taupō town centre, Ardern stopped to speak to local retailer Julie Pointon of Albert Pointon Menswear who told her Taupō retailers were doing well and praised her for "a fantastic job", while sales assistant Debbie Jelaca invited Ardern into the shop to select a shirt for her fiancé Clarke Gayford.
A trip to see some of Taupō's Graffiato street art followed, at which Mel Webley, a worker at local design store Jak & Co took the opportunity to present Ardern with a handmade scented soy candle.
PM Jacinda Ardern toured the Taupō town centre with Towncentre Taupō general manager Julie McLeod (left) and chairman Ben Westerman. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
In the afternoon Ardern journeyed to Mokai, 30km northwest of Taupō where she met with the Tuaropaki Trust, which owns a 75 per cent share of the 113MW Mokai geothermal power station.
She, Woods, Coffey, Al-Bustanji and Te Tai Hauāuru MP Adrian Rurawhe viewed the trust's Project H hydrogen pilot project which uses electricity from the power station to produce hydrogen gas.
PM Jacinda Ardern and Energy Minister Megan Woods visit the Project H hydrogen project at Mokai Power Station. At left is Steve Murray, chief executive of Tuaropaki Trust. Photo / Laurilee McMichael
Afterwards, Ardern joined Woods at a media stand-up where Woods announced that if re-elected, Labour would bring forward the Government's 100 per cent renewable electricity generation target by five years to 2030.
From there - and running tight on time - Ardern briefly returned to talk to the Tuaropaki Trust before it was back on the road, this time to Putaruru.
