The last leg

It is Friday the 13th today. We are heading down to Wellington- our last stop before meeting up with mum's sister and brother in law.

At 8am we leave Rotorua behind us and start our trek " down the line'.
It is quite a drive so we need to leave in plenty of time.

We make a short but worthwhile stop at the famous Huka Falls.

It is a narrow gap, and natural waterfall in the Waikato River which originates in Taupo and travels north to Auckland. 

The noise is deafening, impressive and shows the force and power of Mother Nature at it's best
Yes, I made some photos and a short film.
And bought a postcard.

We continue on our journey.
Just past Taupo we reach the desert Road, a desolate piece of countryside.
No housing, activity or sights. It didn't intrigue me. after the long dry summer it had lost all colour.

There is a cluster of 3 volcanoes - of which one is still active.

The North Island ski fields are here too
Maybe with more time we might have discovered the beauty that was hidden here.

We finally reach civilisation once again.

It is time for lunch. We take a 45 minute food break.
We stopped at a farm where we enjoyed a lovely home made meal

I chose soup and mum a pie.

Another 1 and 1/2 to go then we arrive in Wellington
One more wee stop and the end of our journey is in sight.

JP has an assignment for me

There were two travelers who celebrated their birthday with us.
I was asked to collect signatures on cards for them
I enjoyed that. A nice way to strike up conversation.

Wellington proved a challenge when the driver had to make some tricky manouvers.

The bus entrance is in the garage of the hotel - we made our way upstairs to our room leaving the bus for the last time..
Our short stay in Wellington is in the Travel Lodge Hotel.
The room is on the 7th floor.
Our room is very comfortable and even has a microwave.

After a refreshing wash up we join the others for our last shared meal.