NZ:- Taupo to Wellington

This week,I've covered the Southern half of the North Island from Taupo to Wellington. Photos will soon be up in the usual locations (facebook and www.picasaweb.com/maxbarnish). Taupo is home to the giant Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island and is home to many adventure activities, which i eschewed. Upon leaving Taupo, we called in for a walk in the Tongariro National Park, where I was one of the few of our group reasonably suitably kitted out for the conditions, rugged paths with a serious wind-chill factor: not conducive to flip-flops and no jacket really, but my trainers weren't ideal either. Then we headed into the middle of nowhere to the River Valley adventure lodge, where, while others rafted the rapids, I went on a horse trek through the hills. It was the first time I'd ridden in a few years following a crash, and was a bit hary when the horse cantered (or galloped?) at least one paddock further than everyone else. Then, unlike usually on Kiwi, we headed straight for the Capital of New Zealand, windy Wellington, the highlight of this being the Te Papa museum, where we found a machine that played music track by track, which resulted in some interesting arrangements of pieces. For once I joined the crew on a large night out to the Establishment, where my dancing antics, whilst extreme by my standards, were rather tame compared to some of my fellow travellers. Finally, before heading South over the Cook Strait, I took a trip to Palmerston North, the highlight of which being the rugby museum. I hope to finish my unfinished posts soon....

Max