Day 4 Many Kilometers/Much Fun

When we left Auckland the 2nd time heading toward the South Island we didn't have high expectations as far as scenery was concerned. We knew we had a lot of Kilometers to cover to reach Levin where we were spending the night before getting the ferry the following day. We did however decide to take our Gold Wing rider friend's advice and take the less traveled road west of the mountains. We are happy we did. Once we cleared the traffic outside of Hamilton we had a delightful ride.






After 2 intense days of riding twisty roads we were happy to find ourselves in pastoral farm country with big rolling hills and sweeping curves. The lack of traffic combined with the beauty of the landscape made for a couple of hours of relaxed but fun riding. We saw dairy farms, cattle farms,sheep farms and goat farms. I can say that cow poop smells the same in NZ as in the US.




After a few hours we found ourselves once again climbing to higher elevations with tighter curves. Some places canyon walls rose up on both sides of the road enhancing the thrill of riding through the mountains. It was lunch time when we reached the town of Taumarunui. We were directed to Ruddie's Place, a local cafe. We both had the hot roast beef sandwich. It was served on ciabatta bread with a garlic aoli, fresh greens, onion and a tomato carmel chutney. It was outstanding, as was Ruddie herself.



As we approached Tongariro National Park we found ourselves riding a high plain that was very desert like. There were hills and mountains in the distance, but a ways off. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere we spotted a mountain peak covered with snow. We had no idea until later that we were seeing the top of Mt. Ruapehu the biggest of three active volcanos in the park. The mountain disappeared and reappeared several times as it hid behind closer hills and around many curves. We kept taking photos as we got closer and closer never knowing if we would see it again. Eventually, we landed at Wanganui, a pretty river town close to the Tasman Coast. From that point on the ride was pretty flat and boring as we crossed flatlands on our way to Levin. I had been unable to find an available B&B near where we wanted to be so I settled for a local motel. Unfortunately we had some inconsiderate neighbors that woke us up and made for a poor nights sleep. We did however have a nice home cooked meal at the restaurant next to the motel.