Today was mostly about getting to Wellington. It took me close to 5 hours -- but I made it! I rolled into town around 3:30pm -- checked into my hotel and then took a short stroll around town. And I do mean short -- I'm in a fun section of Wellington -- so I only had to walk a couple of blocks to find a good bar / restaurant. Had a cold glass of Sauvignon Blanc --- and a very early dinner of asian fusion food at Monsoon Poon (very good!) and called it a day. Since then, I've been in my hotel room doing some repacking, some laundry (which is taking eons in this combo washer/dryer) and most importantly -- my tax organizer for Deloitte (finished to the extent that I understand what they are asking me --- all rather confusing). I've been pretty lucky with weather this week -- and my luck continued today --- once I got back to the hotel though the skies opened up and it's been pouring ever since. Hopefully it'll clear up tomorrow for the 3 hour ferry ride to the South Island.
Lake Taupo is very beautiful -- and I do wish I had spent more time there (guess I'll just have to go back some time). Town was very busy -- the 30th Ironman New Zealand is there tomorrow, so most of the hotels/motels were sold out -- and they were starting to close down some of the streets.
I stopped along side Lake Taupo to take some pics and to stretch my legs (it's the 2nd biggest lake in Oceania -- 238 square miles -- so you drive along it for quite awhile) and met a very "interesting" character (see pic below). I think he lives in his car -- would have made me a bit nervous if there weren't other people around the whole time. He filled me in on the background of the lake -- and then went on for awhile about politics in NZ (at which point I told him that I had to get back on the road). Quick synopsis -- it's in a caldera created by a supervolcanic eruption 26,000 years ago --- the last eruption was around 180 AD -- and it was a big one -- it devastated the North Island (fortunately it was unpopulated at that point) -- ejected 100 cubic kilometers of material -- and the resulting ash turned the sky red over Rome and China.
Weather: sunny, cloudy, raining cats & dogs, 65 - 70F
Miles Walked: 2.2
km Driven: 380+
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This week I did the North Island from tip to toe --- I had to skip through some of the mid-section -- and I did more driving than I expected -- but all together, it's been a great week!
So I'm sure you are wondering what it's like to drive in NZ. It's quite good -- although slow going. There are very few true highways (more than 1 lane in 1 direction) -- I've only encountered in Auckland and here in Wellington. The rest of the time it's been driving on "highways" that are 1 lane in each direction (and confusingly the middle line is typically white -- not yellow -- only time I've seen a yellow line is a solid yellow to indicate no passing). The "larger" highways (like Hwy 1 that runs the island from north to south) have passing lanes in all the right places. Speed limit is never more than 100 kph --- and when you go through a town that reduces down to 50. And the highways go right through the towns -- so you never go very fast for any extended period of time. Lots of rotaries -- very few lights outside of the big cities. Outside of the cities like Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington --- GPS not really required -- there aren't that many options, and as long as you know generally where you are going, the decision points (rotaries) are well-marked. The only frustrating thing I've encountered is that they are seemingly repaving all of Hwy 1 at the same time (not really true -- but every 5 - 10 miles, I would hit a part being repaved -- speed limit down to 30 -- and often one side of the road is blocked -- so have to wait as they alternate the traffic through the one open lane.
pic notes (the inability to reorder drives me insane!): dinner in Hamilton; lunch - day 1 - Coromandel Peninsula; sunrise from my hotel room - Coromandel Peninsula; lunch - day 2 - Coromandel Peninsula; sunrise from cabin in Taupo; cabin that would have slept the entire Carlin family +1 (it's all they had available -- fortunately they only charge by person); dinner in Hamilton; Lake Taupo; hydrangeas all over the island -- so beautiful; I rather like the rail-crossing sign; mid-size town (the small ones have just 1 or 2 stores); last 2 pics are of Wellington
Lake Taupo is very beautiful -- and I do wish I had spent more time there (guess I'll just have to go back some time). Town was very busy -- the 30th Ironman New Zealand is there tomorrow, so most of the hotels/motels were sold out -- and they were starting to close down some of the streets.
I stopped along side Lake Taupo to take some pics and to stretch my legs (it's the 2nd biggest lake in Oceania -- 238 square miles -- so you drive along it for quite awhile) and met a very "interesting" character (see pic below). I think he lives in his car -- would have made me a bit nervous if there weren't other people around the whole time. He filled me in on the background of the lake -- and then went on for awhile about politics in NZ (at which point I told him that I had to get back on the road). Quick synopsis -- it's in a caldera created by a supervolcanic eruption 26,000 years ago --- the last eruption was around 180 AD -- and it was a big one -- it devastated the North Island (fortunately it was unpopulated at that point) -- ejected 100 cubic kilometers of material -- and the resulting ash turned the sky red over Rome and China.
Weather: sunny, cloudy, raining cats & dogs, 65 - 70F
Miles Walked: 2.2
km Driven: 380+
************
This week I did the North Island from tip to toe --- I had to skip through some of the mid-section -- and I did more driving than I expected -- but all together, it's been a great week!
So I'm sure you are wondering what it's like to drive in NZ. It's quite good -- although slow going. There are very few true highways (more than 1 lane in 1 direction) -- I've only encountered in Auckland and here in Wellington. The rest of the time it's been driving on "highways" that are 1 lane in each direction (and confusingly the middle line is typically white -- not yellow -- only time I've seen a yellow line is a solid yellow to indicate no passing). The "larger" highways (like Hwy 1 that runs the island from north to south) have passing lanes in all the right places. Speed limit is never more than 100 kph --- and when you go through a town that reduces down to 50. And the highways go right through the towns -- so you never go very fast for any extended period of time. Lots of rotaries -- very few lights outside of the big cities. Outside of the cities like Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington --- GPS not really required -- there aren't that many options, and as long as you know generally where you are going, the decision points (rotaries) are well-marked. The only frustrating thing I've encountered is that they are seemingly repaving all of Hwy 1 at the same time (not really true -- but every 5 - 10 miles, I would hit a part being repaved -- speed limit down to 30 -- and often one side of the road is blocked -- so have to wait as they alternate the traffic through the one open lane.
pic notes (the inability to reorder drives me insane!): dinner in Hamilton; lunch - day 1 - Coromandel Peninsula; sunrise from my hotel room - Coromandel Peninsula; lunch - day 2 - Coromandel Peninsula; sunrise from cabin in Taupo; cabin that would have slept the entire Carlin family +1 (it's all they had available -- fortunately they only charge by person); dinner in Hamilton; Lake Taupo; hydrangeas all over the island -- so beautiful; I rather like the rail-crossing sign; mid-size town (the small ones have just 1 or 2 stores); last 2 pics are of Wellington
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