It dawned a beautiful sunny day, so gorgeous that it was hard to believe that it poured rain in buckets all day yesterday. I had hoped to get a chance for the 2-3 hour Silica Rapids hike this morning, but ran into some difficulty in getting a transport up to Whakapapa Village, where many of the day hikes start from. So, I had a leisurely morning, and sat for awhile on the hotel terrace looking at the mountains in the distance, and then walked the quarter mile to the train station.
In the old Station house is now a charming coffee house/cafe, so I had some lunch and waited for the train. The scenic rail runs 3 days a week south, and 3 days a week north, so it was lucky for me that my dates worked out. And I ran into a German fellow who had been across the aisle from me on the trip down from Auckland, so we shared travel notes and compared our experiences in National Park.
The ride to Wellington was just over 5 hours, but glorious scenery. And since the day from Auckland had been a bit gray, I hadn’t explored the train to discover a carriage at the front that was open for viewing and photos. Today I spent some time up there with my cameras, since the vistas were quite amazing. There were several very high aqueducts, mountains in the distance, lots of rolling hills with many sheep (some shorn and some about to be), and finally the Tasman Sea. It was a very enjoyable journey.
Wellington is a charming town, the capital of NZ, and I’ve heard it described as NZ’s D.C. to Auckland’s NYC. I have visited here before, for business with Weta Workshop, and I enjoyed the waterfront and the quieter pace compared to the bigger city in the north. My hotel was just a few blocks from the train station (which I think I planned on purpose, since I won’t have any time to sight see here this time, as I leave in the morning on a ferry bound for Picton, which is in the north of the South Island.)
In my hours in my hotel room yesterday I realized how much there is to do and see on the North Island, which I think I recognized when planning this trip, but without driving it’s much more difficult to see and do. Things are spread out, even in this small geography and the roads are good, but curvy and narrow, so it takes some time to get around. Next time (and I’m sure there will be a next time), I will find a travel partner who won’t mind driving on the wrong side of the road!
Some wonderful photos of a spectacular NZ summer day.
Amazing shots! Is it sheep central there (like in Scotland)? The mountain peak shot is wonderful!
These views are bananas. The Jan issue of Outside Magazine has 7 pg spread on New Zealand. Unfortunately it’s only in print and not yet posted online. Your blog is so
much better!
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