Things started out fine enough the next day. Then it started to snow. It took about 10 hours to do what should have been a 4-hour drive as a result of accidents, road closures, and dead stops. We got out and had a sludge fight at one point. This is not normal weather for the central North Island. In fact both the locals and the evening news were heartily impressed. There wasn't actually that much snow, but given the small, winding roads and the fact that snowplows are few and far between, it was more than enough to almost paralyze the middle of the island. We kept having to go farther and farther out of our way. On the plus side, we did get to see some nice scenery, and there were a few places where it went from being completely snow-covered to ridiculously green and back again over the course of a few kilometers.
We did finally make it up to Taupo, a town on the shores of Lake Taupo that the snow had not even touched. We did very little that night beyond trying to watch some rugby on tv (and being mystified. None of us understand rugby.) The next day we headed up to Rotorua, which is an area with lots of geothermal activity. There were some nice mudpots and steam vents and that kind of thing, though it's got nothing on Yellowstone. Rather than Old Faithful, they've got a "geyser" that erupts if (and, as far as I know, only if) they put soap (actually, biodegradable soap substitute) in it. Jake dubbed it a fauxser. (There is a good story about how a bunch of guys from a prison camp in the area accidentally discovered it while washing their clothes, though.)
We also did some nice walks in the area. My favorite was through a geothermal area just outside Taupo called the "Craters of the Moon." It's this field that's full of big, collapsed steaming craters. It had kind of a surreal feeling to it.
There's a lot more to see in the North Island, but we didn't have enough time to do any more, so we headed back to Wellington the day before Jake and Robin flew back out again. That about wraps up our New Zealand travels. The South Island was much more memorable than the North, but then we didn't really do the North justice.
Next time: Emily braves the land of DEATH (otherwise known as Australia).
The photos below are all Jake's.
A cop got stuck on this uphill stretch and stopped us all here for about 40 minutes to let the snow melt.
10 Minutes from the snow, it was beautiful.
Robin by a steaming crater.
A "Crater of the Moon."
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