Blogs from River Valley, Central Plateau, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

17th January Richard>>>>>>> We left the camp-site a little to late (9.30am) and started our walk southwards towards Wharapapa out door centre where we planned to rock climb for a couple of days. As soon as we set off the packs felt heavy, the sun was blazing, sending heat waves shimmering up from the long straight road ahead. To the left of us a dog jumped into a water filled trough to gain some respite from the searing heat. We walked and walked changing sides of the road when it was possible to gain shade, from the trees that lined the road. Cars passed us very quickly as the speed limit on this rural road is 100kph, which is surprising as the speed limit in Norway, on the motorway, is only 100kph! After about 2 hrs ... read more

On January 31st we stopped overnight in River Valley. This place was pretty much a disapointment since the only reason the bus stops there is so that people can go whitewater rafting but because the river was so low, there was no rafting to be done. So we pretty much just stayed in a lodge and sat around and did nothing for a day. The highlight of the stop was the farm roast dinner which was roast pork, yorkshire pudding, and a ton of veggies. We left there around noon today to drive to Wellington. Other than that, there isn't much to report. On the way to River Valley though we did stop in the Tongariro National park and went on a couple of short walks to a couple of nice waterfalls. We took some stunning ... read more