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February 15, 2005
The North Island--At Break-Neck Speed
We got our car on Saturday--little silver Toyota Corolla with lots of personality but not too much pick up. We headed out of Auckland a few hours after we bought the car and we've been on the road ever since. Our first stop was in Rotorua, known for its sulfur springs. The town was basically deserted and smelled like rotten eggs, but we found a grocery store, some cheap dinner, and great accomodations (after 2 nights at the Fat Camel, this place felt like the Ritz!) On Sunday we made our way from Rotorua to Gisborne via the East Cape. We had met a few people in Samoa who raved about the East Cape, but in my opinion they had hyped it up a little too much. The ocean views were beautiful and the farm land was nice, but it was basically the exact same scenery for 6 hours. The roads were fun though--twisting and turning through the mountains at 60 mph. The speed limits were crazy--I'm a fast driver and all, but going 60 mph on a narrow road around sharp corner on a steep mountain (with no barrier to prevent us from plummeting to our death) seemed a little obsurd. We seemed to be the only ones on the road with that sentiment though, people were passing us left and right. So we had a night in Gisborne (no rotten egg smells, but equally as deserted) and then made our way to Napier, known as on the the best examples of an Art Deco town in the world. The town was very nice, right on the ocean and full of really beautiful buildings. A little more lively than the other towns, but not by much. I think at 5pm everything in New Zealand shuts down and people run for cover. Shops are closed, restuarants and bars are empty, streets are bare. Very strange. But we did manage to find some delicious sashimi, followed by some disgusting dinner, followed by a couple beers with the drunkest man in Napier. He was a big Patriots fan--told us about 25 times that he watched the game with "Jess whose brother was actually texting her from the Superbowl." Maybe it was 30 times. Oh, and we went to a great vineyard in Napier--Mission Estate Vineyard. The oldest one in New Zealand. Free wine tasting and great views of the city. And now here we are in Wellington. Got here last night. It's kind of cool and windy, but it's sunny at least! We've been so lucky with the weather. Everyone has told us that it has basically rained all summer here, but we haven't had a drop all week. Now that I said that it's probably going to start to pour. Today we have a bunch of errands to take care of and then tomorrow we have the ferry to the South Island. I'm excited to see the South Island--the North has been great, but I think I was expecting it to be nicer. It may be that we have had to cover too much ground in too little time. It's hard to appreciate things when you're rushing to get to your next destination. After Milford we'll be able to slow down a little.
Hope you are all well at home!
xoxo
Posted by Kate at February 15, 2005 08:46 PM
Comments
Kate likes fish now?! Is this purely for survival? I love the picture you took 'room with a view'....that's pretty sweet. However, I zoomed in and I think someone was peeking on you guys...little guy near your left foot :) I'm glad that you are enjoying your trip! Travel safely and we miss you back here.
Posted by: Kara at February 16, 2005 12:52 PM
Kate--
Just wanted to update you on a little L & O SVU. Alex Cabot (the old DA) came back (she was in witness protection, not dead) and put the guy away who attempted to murder her.
My new favorite show!
Posted by: Ben at February 23, 2005 04:41 PM