An whistle stop tour from Gisborne to Wellington
When the time came to leave Gisborne I still didn’t know where to go. Sitting in the drivers seat I decided to head to Napier and from there I’d figure the rest out. On the way I stopped in the Māhia area, known for its surf and beauty. It wasn’t particularly sunny, nor was there any surf really so I decided to crack on, continuing to Napier. In 1931 Napier was flattened by an earthquake and an art deco style was chosen for the rebuild, as a result Napier has a unique architectural style not seen in the rest of New Zealand. Although an
attractive place, after a wander around I didn’t feel a reason to stay so after a night in a carpark on the beach front I continued my travels onto Taupō. Arriving early on a Sunday morning I popped into a lively church service then had a stroll around town.There’s a lot to do in Taupō and it has an unmistakable tourist feel about it. After town I headed up to Huka falls, a popular spot for both kayakers and tourists. While not particularly tall, it is still quite spectacular with a vast volume of water flowing.
Further up the Waikato river there is a hydro electric dam, every two hours it opens releasing torrents of water into the Aratiatia Rapids below, this was the next spot on my list. The area of Taupō is also known for its geothermal activity, having not experienced a thermal hot pool in Rotoura I decided to treat myself on my way back towards town. The spa was lush featuring three pools of varying temperatures. The hottest pool was around 45 degrees C and made me go quite lightheaded. I found a packed freedom camping spot for the night and after a brief swim in the lake in the morning I got behind the wheel once again. My destination was New Plymouth, knowing I wasn’t going to get there in a day I thought I’d just drive until I’d had enough. I settled on taking
the Forgotten World Highway to get there as it looked quite scenic. I understood pretty quickly where it got its name from. Both the road and the hills around were void of life, stunning at times, yes, but full of obvious attractions, No. As I went through the gorge I felt as if I was in a Jurassic park film, rain falling heavy and rich green foliage growing out of every nook and cranny. I came across a tree that had fallen over the road, after scraping past it I pulled over and worked on dragging it out the way. The road took me through Moki tunnel and I also stopped off at Gollum’s Pool (scene from LOTR) to stretch my legs. After around 4hrs of driving I was done for the day so decided to spend the night in Stratford.
Like a lot of small towns in New Zealand there isn’t a lot to do, so after a walk into town and a pizza I turned in for the night. Having been warned that the ferry to the south Island booked up quick I checked out the available dates. To my surprise it was pretty much fully booked until the new year (10th Dec at point of booking). I found one of the last available spots on the 14th Dec which meant I was now on the clock. The next couple days involved the exploration of Mt Taranaki which I’ll cover in another post so I’ll skip ahead to New Plymouth. Now not having much time before I had to be in Wellington I wasn’t able to explore New Plymouth, I’ve heard its quite a cool place so maybe I’ll return one day. From New Plymouth I headed south via Surf Highway 45. It was a grey, rainy day when I set off so hopes were low of finding any good waves. I decided to stop in on Stent road however as I’d heard it was a pretty legendary right hand point break. I rocked up and it was pumping!
Reasonably clean and overhead to overhead and half I quickly hopped in. Busy but I managed to bag a few resulting in the best waves of my life! A couple hours later I was on the road again. I spent the night at a middle of nowhere campsite by a lake and the next day arrived in Wellington. Getting there early I found a nice freedom camping spot and went for a couple hour walk along the sea front into the CBD. Had a little explore, got some lunch and bought a copy of Moby Dick and then ambled on back. Midday on the 14th December I boarded a ferry for the South Island. The north had been fun. Picturesque beaches, epic waves and fantastic weather had been the order of the day but I was looking forward to what was ahead. Less people, bigger mountains and a bit of rain. I was also eager to find a place to settle for a little while and had a collection ideas in mind. The next chapter begins.
