Mordor to Wellington

We set off along the sparking shores of Lake Taupo for the Tongariro National Park - well I wasn’t paying too much attention to the amazing scenery as I was concentrating on steering the van along the winder road on the lake’s edge and avoiding a large cycle race into the mountains. We headed to the national park village where we didn’t think we were quite up to the 8 hour alpine crossing over the volcanoes and took a shorter ‘tramp’ instead. A lovely hike through woodland and mountain paths with great views of Ruapehu, the highest volcano, though the top was covered in cloud all day. It ended at some silica terrace falls which were lovely. John took over the driving for the rest of the volcanic ‘loop’ which was spectacular and I was able to enjoy the views of the volcanoes which star as ‘Mordor’ in Lord of the Rings and Ngauruhoe which is Mount Doom. Looking at them from the East side they certainly looked menacing, even though they’re not spitting fire at present.
Before we set off the next morning we had to empty the ‘waste’ in the dump station for the first time which was a challenge. The chemical loo we managed fine but it took us a while to locate the grey water outlet but John did find it in the end without having to resort to putting the DVD on and looking like total numpties, sitting in the van at the dump station watching a DVD!
We headed through the most spectacular mountain scenery to Napier on the Pacific coast. Destroyed by an earthquake in the early 30’s, they rebuilt the town at the height of Art Deco mania and most of the buildings are still in great condition. They were also just starting an art deco weekend so the town was full of beautiful 1930’s cars, including a red Packard Super 8, and people dressed in the appropriate costume. We felt decidedly underdressed but had a good walk round before heading to Havelock North and our lovely rural camp site, with great views of the hills and a heated pool. We took a taxi to Craggy Range winery where we ate a fine dinner of local fish and drank some of their vintage Chardonnay.
The next day we shared the long drive to Wellington where we’d booked a motor home park (well more of a car park with loos and showers) right on the quay, so as to be handy for the ferry the next morning. We had a walk round this lovely city and went up to the Botanic Gardens in the cable car to admire the view of the harbour and the houses hanging onto the steep slopes. The Queen Elizabeth was in town on her maiden world cruise so it was amazing to see this huge ship towering over the quayside.
Sunday morning, bright and early, we were on the quayside ourselves, waiting for the Interislander ferry to take us across the Cook Straight to the South Island. It was a beautiful morning and the 3 hour crossing lived up to its claim to be one of the finest ferry rides in the world. We watched dolphins playing around our ferry and jumping out of the water in front of another boat coming the other way as if they were showing they were faster which was magical. John got the van on board with no trouble though he did come quite close to the roof of the reception building at our next campsite in Blenheim, much to the owner’s consternation! Our first pit stop on the south island is just beautiful, sloping grass down to an incredibly clear river and views of the mountains which surround the Marlborough vineyards.