Crossing Kiwi -a-Gogo Land

After we left the caves at Waitomo, we traveled south to Mt. Taranaki, a huge mountain that rises from nowhere next to the ocean. Unfortunately, we had terrible weather. The mountain was completely covered in clouds and it was raining the whole time. We drove up as far as we could, however, and were rewarded with amazing rainforest and signs warning us to be quiet because there were kiwi around. We were a little disappointed that we didn't get to see the mountain, but we were staying in a nice lodge near the base with a lot of nice people, so it wasn't a total loss.

On our way out the next morning (this would be yesterday), it had cleared up, but the mountain was still shrouded. Barbora told me to keep an eye out, but I wasn't very hopeful that we would get to see it. As we were driving away, however, a small part of the peak became visible and there was a mad dash to pull the car over and take pictures. It was beautiful sight, made all the more interesting by the fact that there weren't any other mountains around; it just shot straight up from level ground. These are my two favorite pictures.

As we drove through Taranaki, there were signs all over that said in big letters: "Talk about it! Taranaki lifeline (phone number)" I guess you call the number if you are bored and want to talk about it?

The rest of the day was spent driving. We had really been in the middle of nowhere in rural New Zealand, and there was beautiful scenery as we drove of pastures and snow covered peaks. At one point, as we crossed from the west to the east, we passed through a mountain gorge with rainforest on all sides.

Do you like sheep? Come to New Zealand!

Now we are in Napier, which counts in New Zealand as a city, although it's more of a small town. It was destroyed in a nearthquake in the 1930s, and was rebuilt in an art deco style. It's fun to walk around, but there really isn't much to it. Our hostel is a five minutes walk from th etown center and gorgeous views of Hawke's Bay. We are spending a day here, and tomorrow we are headed to Te Urewera national park to do some hiking.

Here is a map of where he have been so far. We are covering a lot of the North Island! I miss you all very much!