Driving the North Island

Wednesday morning I left the hostel and walked the short distance to the car rental agency and picked up my rental car. I drove off to spend the next few days touring the North Island and to arrive in Wellington on Friday afternoon. Like Australia, New Zealand drives on the left side of the road and I had to keep reminding myself when turning to turn onto the left side.

I was soon coasting down the main state highway south. The speed limit on roads outside of cities is 100 km/h and as I was to soon find out the hills, curves, and mountains often prevent going that fast. I was a little less than an hour south of Auckland on a relatively straight but hilly section of road when much to my dismay I saw a police car approach me with its lights on. I cast thoughts of deportment aside and awaited the policewoman to come up to my window. Apparently, I had crept up to 112 km/h going down a hill, which is roughly 69 mph in a 62 mph zone. Once she realized I was an American, she asked if I had an address in NZ and I told her I was on holiday and driving to Wellington. Her thought processed was etched all over her face as she realized how much paperwork it would be write me a ticket. Looking a little annoyed, she let me go with just a warning.

My first scheduled stop of the trip was in Rotorua, a popular hot springs area. New Zealand is part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and has active volcanos and geothermal springs. There are plenty of hot springs resorts around Rotorua, but I stopped downtown at Kuirau Park. I braved a light rain to visit the bubbling mud pits and fresh water pools in the park. The sulfur smell was pervasive and the cool rain increased the amount of steam rising from the pools. A few of the pools had been partially covered and set aside for public bathing, but due to the soggy weather I only dipped my hands in. The water was warm and clear. The persistent rain curtailed my stay any longer and I returned to the road south.

I stopped for the night at Taupo on the shores of Lake Taupo. At least, they told me there was a lake but I really couldn't see much due to the rain and clouds. I ate dinner of lamb shanks at a little pub along the lake before getting soaked on the walk back to the hostel. I had my own room and spent the evening watching a movie on my computer.

On Thursday I got to see a little more of Lake Taupo, but low hanging clouds prevented a good view. I drove south into Tongariro National Park, one of the oldest national parks in the world. The main attraction is Mt Ruapehu, an active volcano that erupted only a few weeks ago. No one died when it erupted, but there were a few hikers injured and so all the upper hiking trails were closed. Mt Ruapehu also served as Mt Doom in the Lord of Rings. When I arrived in Whakapapa Village at the base of Mt Ruapehu the weather was still cold and rainy, and the only thing visible was clouds. I couldn't see Mt Ruapehu or the other mountains at all. Undaunted, I decided to do one of the short hiking trails from the visitor's center called the Ridge Trail. It only took about twenty minutes to get to the top of the track, but still I could not see any the valley below or mountains above. I decided to wait a bit and see if it cleared, and lo and behold it did clear. The clouds slowly dissipated and I got my first view of the valley below. The mountains were still shrouded in clouds, but I figured some view is better than none.

I returned to the village and got a quick lunch before getting back in the car. I stopped at the short trail down to Tawhai Falls. When I reached the falls I could actually see blue sky and the sun was shining. With all the rain, the decent sized falls was flowing rapidly. When I returned back to road level it had cleared enough to see the slopes of the mountains. I drove to the nearby mounds trail that took me out to a volcanic mound and gave me a great view of the surrounding area. The tops of the mountains were still covered in clouds, but most of the snowy slopes were visible. I sat for a while watched the clouds roll over the mountains and enjoying the nice weather.

The drive south from Tongariro National Park was nonstop beautiful scenery. The road wound through craggy mountains and rolling hills with sheep everywhere. The constant twists and turns of the road kept me occupied, but I was able to steal a few glances of the scenery. I stopped at an overlook to see Raukawa Falls on the Whanganui River which was beautiful. The scenery was gorgeous, but I was happy to return to some flat road as I entered my evening stop in the town of Wanganui.

While I searched for my accommodations in Wanganui, I got a bit turned around. As I finally got going in what I thought was the right direction, I drove through a round about and then turned and saw a police car behind me and for the second consecutive day I was being pulled over. The policeman's first words were to ask if I was lost. Now experienced with dealing with NZ police officers, I told him I was an American on holiday and that I was a bit lost. I showed him where I was going and he and his partner gave me directions. They never even told me if I had done some improper, they just sent me on my way. Feeling very embarrassed but also finding the situation rather funny, I was happy to find where I was going and park the car. The tally so far: two days driving in NZ and two times pulled over by police, but no tickets.

My accommodations for the evening was a hostel, but it was in a large old inn that was part B&B and part hostel. I had a private room out in back and it was quite nice for a hostel. For dinner, I walked into town and got some "fush and chups" and ate them sitting on a bench along the Whanganui River. The setting sun cast amazing light on the surrounding hills. It was a lovely evening after a long day of touring and driving.

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