Rainy Tongariro

Our journey from Taupo to Wellington was the worst weather we had the entire trip. Very rainy and fairly cold. Unfortunately, it probably would've been the most scenic part of the north island. We had considered doing the day long Tongariro Alpine Crossing track, but the idea of hiking for 11 hours in pouring rain wasn't exactly appealing. Luckily, we had purchased art with much clearer views of Tongariro.


After our drive through National Park, the journey became filled with windy roads, sheep, and rolling hills filled with shrubbery like you'd see in the desert. The roads in NZ are all in great condition, but we did notice several differences to the U.S. Repairs are called reconstruction projects and can be of types realignment or resealment. Signs will often say "New Seal" when they have recently been renovated. Speaking of seal, hidden turn signs state "Consealed" rather than "Blind turn." We entertained ourselves on the 5 hour drive to Wellington with these NZ idiosyncrasies.
The skies cleared as we headed in to the Kapiti Coast. Rain stopped, and we were surrounded by vineyards and gorgeous coastline. It was a nice greeting as we approached Wellington.