tomputer

No natural hazards to avoid today, so we took a trip up the east coast. First stop Whakatane where the sun came out so we took a trip up to the viewpoint above the town and then a walk along the shore.

We flicked on the TV whilst having breakfast this morning to see news of a tsunami heading towards NZ following the earthquake off Samoa. They were predicting that it would hit Napier later in the morning with waves of up to 1 metre. This is quite scary news when you’re from the UK and not used to such things (noone else seemed particuarly worried!) and as we were staying on Marine Drive and could see the sea from the window, we decided to pack up and head inland instead of driving along the coast to Gisborne as planned. As it turned out, the wave when it hit was a bit of a non-event and we could probably have carried on as planned, but better safe than sorry.

So we headed back down the road to Taupo, just to check that it really does rain all the time there (we can confirm that it does). We stopped at this viewpoint and almost missed the waterfall by not getting out of the car in the rain. We couldn’t see it from the car, but could hear as soon as we got out.

The weather forecast wasn’t good for today but it turned out great. This morning we went for a walk around Napier and followed an art-deco tour route.

Today has been mostly about avoiding the rain. We were planning to spend the day on and around Lake Taupo but at times the rain was so heavy that we could barely see the lake so we changed our plans. First we went to Huka Falls which is a section of rapids on the Waikoto River that feeds a dam used for generating electricity. The rain wasn’t too bad here so we went for a walk alongside the river but it turned torrential as we were ready to leave.

After lunch (eaten in the car to avoid the rain) we went for a coffee to find some shelter and update the blog and then took a drive around Lake Taupo in our unnecessarily large hire car.

We then abandoned Taupo and drove to Napier which is where we’re spending the next 2 nights and is the southernmost point of our trip. It rained pretty much all the way but the highlight was seeing Melvyn and his Stump Branch Crew clearing a section of forrest alongside the road.

We’re now checked in to our motel and have been for a walk around Napier to check out where we might want to go for dinner. After we’ve dried off we’re going to head back out.

First off today, a trip round Lake Rotorua with a picture stop:

Then a stop at the Skyride gondola and luge for a cable car trip up the hill and a go on the luge (like a soapbox car down a winding route back down the mountain) with a chairlift back to the top.

Next stop was Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland where they have bubbling sulphur pools (smelly) with lots of strange colours from the minerals that are brought up from the rocks underground