Driving back through the North Island to Wellington

---

Today I did alot of driving, again. We took the 1, which is the fastest and the main highway up to Auckland. I decided to go back a different way to see more of the countryside. We took the 1 for a while and than took the 4 towards the southern Taranaki region near the ocean. It was very pretty and worth the extra time. It looked just like "middle-earth" from Lord of the Rings. Lots of green mountains, forests, some snow, rivers, waterfalls, cliffs, etc. It was lots of fun. Lake Taupo was huge, its the biggest lake in the southern hemisphere. Unfortunately the sun had just set when we reached the ocean. I wanted to stop and hang out on a beach for a while but the girls said they had to get back to do homework. We got back into Wellington late at night. It was a great trip, I had an awesome time!

---

Photos

Lake Taupo
It was a very clear day, a good day for heaps of driving. It was almost impossible to tell where the lake ended and where the sky started Lake Taupo is the biggest lake in the southern hemisphere, fyi.

Scenery
The van in the background... really nice day.

The Drive Back
This is a pic of the view from the 4 freeway.

???
Wait, the van is moving, fast, and I'm driving... How was this photo taken??? Haha, let me know what you think...

Napoleon
Representin the fro, mauis, Boulder, and funked out adidas shorts... yay yaaay