The road to Taupo was slow and wet. The
sun was shining when I left Rotorua, but within 20 minutes, it was
pouring rain. I followed a bicycle signs for the whole day. The trail
weaved on and off the highway and at times even having a paralleling
bike route all to myself. It was nice to get out of the flow of
traffic even if I spent all day in the rain. There wasn't much other
than trees and sheep south of Rotorua for the first half of the day,
but at one point I came around a corner on a deserted, hilly road and
came across a massive tourist compound. It was the Waimangu volcanic
valley, an active volcano lying in a valley floor. I went for a walk
down the valley and saw all sorts of mineral deposits, geysers, and
bubbling lakes. The rain let up for a few minutes, but I ran along
for a majority of the way with a couple of German tourists, trying to
get to the end of the valley trail and back before getting completely
drenched.
I only made it a few more miles down
the road before ducking into a motel sitting along the side of the
road. The rain wouldn't let up and even though there were several
hours of light left, I was too wet and miserable to keep going. It
turned out that two other bikers, one from Switzerland and one from
Germany had the same idea. It was nice to meet some fellow travelers.
Rain has been a prominent theme thus
far in New Zealand. I ride when I can and set up shelter when it's
too wet. I'm slowly making my way through the country, enjoying
myself as much as I can in all weather. Taupo was a neat town. I took
a boat tour out on the water and hiked out to the Huka waterfall.
South of Lake Taupo I did my best to get to Mount Ngauruhoe, aka
“Mount Doom” from Lord of the Rings, but alas, snow prevailed in
the hills and I wasn't even able to take pictures. I was still able
to get a few pictures of Mordor and a couple other film sites.
I arrived in Wellington last night and
passed right by the German and Swiss bikers in the street down town
and almost didn't recognize them. Wellington lives up to its
reputation as the “Windy City.” I went to the zoo today and I'm
taking the ferry to Picton on the South Island tomorrow. I'm all
ready for the second half of the trip!
