We had beautiful skies driving north out of Wellington.
In organizing this journey, we generally planned to spend less than 4 hours on the road on any given day.
This day would be an exception. The NZAA Travel Time and Distance Calculator predicted this days time at 4 hours and 36 minutes. Combine this with the fact that roads pretty much everywhere in New Zealand were under repair. We had spent so much time in orange cone zones waiting to proceed that we learned to add half again to the AA’s estimated duration.
Add to this that our GPS was not up to date with new road construction on the north island. It’s challenging when the GPS gets lost! LOL!!!! How in the world would you know where you were?
We knew we were in for a long day. The good news is that we got there!
Here’s a sample of the roads we travelled.
This looks good. What’s the problem?
My knuckles aren’t white, yet…..
I wonder how far ahead the blockage is?
Okay, we’re moving again…
We did think of snagging one of these cones for a souvenir, but it probably wouldn’t pack well!
This route took us through a central plateau to the south of Lake Taupo. These foreboding skies gave us pause…
Ah, here we go!
Foreboding skies begone!
We’re here at the Motutere Bay TOP 10 Holiday Park on the beautiful shores of Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest lake.
The reward at the end of a long day on the road.
On the table you can see this amazing confection, unique to New Zealand; the very briefly entitled Kapiti Passionfruit and Kamahi Honey Yoghurt Ice Cream Taste Adventure!
These babies were worth their weight in gold!
We’re in for a good night’s rest. Tomorrow will be a big day with Huka Falls and then Te Puia, the heart of Rotorua, the North Island’s main geothermal area.
Grampafacts 