e, bryan, a i hired a car on a fuzzy post-paddy's day. corolla for $60/day. headed nw out of welly to nice little city of wanganui on the whanganui river, the longest navigable river in nz. tamara backpackers was the nicest hostel we've stayed at yet; old victorian home on the river.
the 3 of us are feeling blah from travel and people. nice to escape in confines of our own vehicle. spent the eve driving around town and climbed a tower for great views of the area. made curry for dinner and took advantage again of cheap cheap wine from the supermarket. been getting nice bottles of nz red or white for $8 since we've been here!
fri we headed nw to egmont natl park, famous for mt taranaki, a nearly conical old volcano that dominates the region. drove along the Surf Hwy on the coast. detoured inland to dawson falls, tiny town that offers closest road access to mtn. taranaki looms! was cloudy at peak, as was expected. locals say if you can`t see the top, it`s raining, and if you can see the top, it`s going to rain.
got to city of new plymouth by mid-afternoon. blah mood resulted in zero sightseeing. ha! chilled at hostel, made homemade pizzas, had wine with other backpackers, and helped sue from toronto get some online dates.
next day was quite scenic. headed due east along the Forgotten World Hwy which climbs numerous saddles thru mountainous rainforest and valleyed pasture. full day of driving to get to palmerston north, dubbed by john cleese of monty python as the most boring town in nz. he was right. no room in town for us, so continued onward. ended up at tamara again in wanganui by 8 pm.
early rise next morning to have car back in wellington by sunday at noon. bryan may or may not have gotten a speeding ticket =). was good to see western part of north island and be on our own for a few days.
1st photo - wanganui
2nd photo - mt taranaki
3rd photo - huge carrot at ohakune
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