Tramp footwear

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On Friday, we headed off on SH45 - the Surf Coast Highway which runs all the way around the western edge of Taranaki, is a highway, on the coast, and has surf. We again hoped that we could see the top of Mount Taranaki, but again there was cloud. We stopped for brunch in pub on way and made it into Wanganui by late afternoon. The rain that evening was terrific and after a 30 second (aborted) attempt to go for an evening stroll, we were glad to stay indoors. We watched the NZ film "River Queen" which is set during settler times and was shot on the Whanganui River upon which the town sits. (For linguistically obscure reasons the town is Wanganui with a "W" and the river is Whanganui with a "WH" although both are pronounced with the W-sound rather than the normal Phf-sound which is usually denoted by a "WH" in the Maori language...if you want to know more, google it!)

On Saturday, we explored the town and picked up a few things from Kathmandu (an Australasian outdoor store chain). We continue to be amused by signs advertising "Tramp Footwear". (In NZ, hiking = tramping, so tramp footwear = hiking boots, and NOT the smelly hobnail boots with holes in the toes and flapping soles that the wording evokes!). Afterwards, we spent the afternoon in the Whanganui National Park, following the river by car along ever narrowing and deteriorating roads. Dogding the rock falls and enjoying the unsealed which turned to gravel and dirt road surface, we eventually got to a point when we wanted to turn back but realised we had gone too far to turn back (about 89km too far), so we persevered and eventually, after passing a road sign complete with bullet holes (gulp!) we emerged out onto a sealed road several hours later. Following this road eastwards we turned a sharp bend and were rewarded with a stunning (and completely unexpected) view of Mount Ruapehu (2797m) which is the largest volcano in the Tongariro National Park and despite the fact that the top was obscured by cloud (grrr!) it was still an awesome sight. We continued eastwards towards the mountain, drawn like dwarves to a diamond mine, and ended up high in the mountains in the ski-town of Ohakune. We had a quick coffee and realising that we were many kms from 'home' we set off and the long drive southwards, back to Wanganui.

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Photos

Whanganui river
From Wanganui backpackers

Half a Maori war canoe
...over 150 years old

Someone didn't like this sign...
...and they used a firearm!

Comments

[Wales]

wow!
All looks great!! So jealous! I went skiing on top of Mount Ruapehu, it smelt so bad of eggs (due to its volcanic nature!) and I stayed in a tiny wooden hut at the bottom and almost froze to death!!! loved it though, keep enjoying yourselves!!X