Leaving North Island for now

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Drove to New Plymouth through the Awakino Gorge, which was quite spectacular. As we came out of the Gorge the towering, snow-covered volcanic cone of Mount Taranaki appeared, all 2518 metres of it (over 7500 feet) - even better. On to Wanganui. The campsite was right on the river and the National Rowing Championships were taking place. The campsite owners asked if we had a loyalty card. You pay $40 for the card but get 10% off each booking plus discounts on other things like the Inter-Island Ferry. 10 nights discount pays for the card so we decided to get one. The campsite was delightful, with rabbits, ducks & ducklings, and a goat wandering about, as well as a pair of birds nesting in the hollow of a nearby tree. That night the blow up camp bed we had painstakingly carried all the way from blighty, and which had toured Europe with us several times, started to deflate and it was like sleeping on a trampoline. If one person moved the other was catapulted off the bed. By morning we were almost lay on the ground. The rowing championships continued the next day and we watched some of the races from the top of the local war memorial tower high above the town. The views over the surrounding countryside and sea were great. On to Wellington, the capital. We got to the campsite, claimed our discount, went to the ferry terminal to book the ferry over to South Island, forgot to show the discount card! As it was a non-refundable websaver we lost our discount - over $20.00 - drat and double drat. On our way back to the campsite we filled up with petrol and Linda remembered seeing a petrol discount from one of the supermarkets we'd been to. Sure enough it worked, so we did save a bit on our fuel - lose some, win some. Petrol is extremely cheap compared to the UK and Europe, less than 50p per litre. Wellington is just another city. We didn't think there was anything there to make us want to stay. The mattress went down again in the night! Got the ferry the next morning. As we were leaving the large natural harbour that Wellington is on, Den got chatting to a New Zealander from South Island. He was the spitting image of Wally from 'Crocodile Dundee' and talked like him as well. He told Den of all the great places and things to do on South Island (adding that he hadn't done any of them himself). The last bit of the ferry voyage takes you up Tory Channel and Queen Charlotte Sound, both Fiord-like with towering sides. Very spectacular and so much better than the Dover-Calais trip.

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Comments

[Sheila]

Nice to see you
Only just caught up with you both. read with interest and felt envious. Sheila