The beauty of the North
Trip Start
Apr 10, 2006
1
38
47
Trip End
Jul 24, 2006
Taupo,
New Zealand
Sunday, May 28, 2006
I headed north up highway 1, passing through many quaint towns and villages, and lush green countryside. One of the towns I passed through, Bulls, near a New Zealand air force base, caused a stir a few years back when it exported milk to Europe; 'Milk from Bulls' was emblazoned across the cartons!
I was now getting used to the quaint towns, where there is nothing over two story and most buildings just single story with huge vertical hoardings in place of a second story, apart from there being modern neon signs, retail outlets and garages, you could be forgiven for thinking you were on the set of a western.
Cove Hotel and spaceship
Although I was travelling along New Zealand's main highway, for the majority of the journey it as single lane. This isn't actually a problem in New Zealand as nothing goes faster than 100km (odd cars excepted) and most crawl along at this speed, so there is no need for overtaking or fast lanes, traffic flowing in one long convoy. Occasionally there are slow lanes where the road meanders up a hill, allowing cars an opportunity to overtake slower lorries. o my journey was slow and I now doubted if I'd make Auckland.
I travelled across a huge plain, which reminded me of Salisbury plain in England, and was even more reminiscent when I came across warning signs for military exercises. Across in the distance was the Central Plateau's triplet volcanoes; Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngauruhoe - they command a domineering presence on the rugged landscape. With white steam rising in the distance, it was evident there was volcanic activity, and with a snow cap I wondered if there was any ski activity.
I had already decided that my next couple of nights would be spent in a hotel - I had run around New Zealand at such a pace, and whilst it had been perfect for me (no chance of getting bored) I was now pretty exhausted and just wanted to chill
Highway 1 in the rain
.I drove into Turangi, what a beautiful town. Obviously very prosperous, with everything absolutely immaculate, and large tree lined avenues and parks. Having refuelled here I continued and a few kilometres on came across a huge lake (lake Taopo), it must have been 50km long. Fisherman were spread along it's banks, and an occasional boat could be seen.
With the road following the line of the lake I entered the town of Taopo. If this town wasn't built specifically for tourism, it certainly grew from it, there must have been more motels, lodges and hotels than people when I arrived, simply hundreds of places to stay lining both sides of the road for some five kilometres into the town. And no wonder when I entered the local tourist centre, the amount of activities and things to see was astounding - you could spend a whole holiday here and not do or see it all. From water based activities, volcanic pools, and extreme sports to even driving a formula 1 race car!
The town itself was laid out on a grid style, and had the usual mix of restaurants bars and shops, I chose a hotel overlooking the lake, and after receiving some advice chose a bar from which to watch the rugby
Taupo Lake 1
.Rugby is a fabulous game and it still impresses me at how rival supporters can enjoy a game for what it is, sharing in each teams ups and downs with good banter. I think it is a world trait of rugby, that you never find any trouble centred on a game of rugby, and here was no different, with grown (brick shxx house) 6'6 men dressed in women's clothes, enjoying a good tease and laugh with all revellers. (Can't say that for football!). The match, the final of the super 14's, the equivalent of the FA cup final in England, was being contested by The Crusaders from south Island and The Hurricanes from North Island, and the build up commentary had been exciting. The match was interesting as it was played in a pea soup conditions, the whole stadium enveloped in a thick fog. It brought back fond memories of my playing days and a game in similar conditions in Suffolk. Whenever the ball was kicked high, all thirty players and ref stopped still, and waited, before charging towards the sound of the ball to hitting the ground.
The TV station hadn't got enough cameras to cover the game properly for these conditions the long range shots were hopeless, it was like watching the game back on an old black and white TV with an internal aerial, and virtually impossible to see the ball (they should have changed it for a red one). Reminds me of that piece of snooker commentary; "and for those of you watching this in black and white, the white ball is next to the blue"! But nonetheless it was fun to watch and the banter in the pub was good - The Crusaders won.
