May 7th and 8th - New Plymouth/Ohakune

With a whole bunch of activities needing to be sandwiched into a few days we drove south along the west coast towards New Plymouth. The big, and some say only, attraction of this small coastal city is its proximity to the mighty Mount Taranaki, a solitary volcano that seemingly rises from nowhere to dominate the horizon for miles around. What on paper appeared to be about a 2 hour pleasure cruise from Waitomo turned out to be a full day nightmare. Immediately after noticing a highway sign declaring the presence of falling rocks for the next kilometer I came across, you guessed it, some fallen rocks. I thought that I’d center them between my tires such they’d pass underneath the middle of the car, say hello to the axles and muffler, and carry on about their pointless existence. They, however, had much more sinister intentions as the largest of their lot took a bite out of our left front tire. The sound of escaping air was unmistakable and I was forced to pull over on the side of the single lane, mountain side highway. I’d certainly changed a tire before but only on the groundmaster tractors at my job with the city and that was with an impact gun and a tank full of compressed air. I was more or less on the right track when a lovely Indian man and his father pulled over, pushed me aside, and proceeded to secure our spare before we could comprehend what was happening. The downside of this occurrence was that for the remainder of the drive (well over an hour) I was forced, as per the instructions written upon the spare tire, to keep my speed below 80kph. Looking on the bright side, this allowed me to better appreciate the spectacular scenery of the Taranaki region. Our good friends from Lonely Planet steered us to an organic brewery on the outskirts of New Plymouth where our tensions were eased over the purchase of some fine ale, lager, and strawberry blonde beer. Our plans for a 5 hour walk around the mountain were ruined so we decided to use the day to take care of some minor business such as laundry and internet matters. Simon and I found ourselves in the middle of the unique New Zealand weather patterns as we hopped from overhang to overhang as the rain alternated between pissing and non-existence, separated only by a matter of seconds. That evening we had our first experience with one of the many takeaways which seem to litter the corners of every intersection regardless of population size. The format of these shops appears to be fish and chips that you order from a counter along with Chinese food served buffet style. Any way you slice it you get exceptionally greasy food for dangerously cheap. These places are buzzing after hours with people unashamedly bending the rule that states you must be able to close the lid on your all-you-can-eat container. Kelsey opted for an MSG fix while Simon and I went for the more traditional fish and chips, though I got kumara chips instead of regular ones (which are sweet potatoes in New Zealandese). Combine this with the beers we purchased on the way in and we had one hearty meal. This was followed by a rousing round of the Lord of the Rings board game and a stop at the local live music venue to see Nite Shift, a band of moderately talented forty-somethings who were in desperate need of a makeover. The following morning (Sunday) we found the only repair shop in town that was open and the guy was so bored he fixed the tire for free. With our car full of petrol and our bellies full of greasy food we finally made it to the mountain and justified the previous night’s meal with a nature walk. We got some great pictures of the peak and Dawson Falls and left feeling satisfied. I felt like a soccer mom driving my two tuckered out kids home from the big game as Simon and Kelsey passed out on the road to Wanganui. We discovered that despite the fact that I do the majority of the driving, it always seems as though Kelsey gets stuck with the scariest bits of road. The final push on Sunday evening was no different with more hills and turns than ever. At our final destination of Ohakune, a town in a similar vein to Jasper at the foot of Mount Ruapehu/Doom, we truly learned that we were visiting in the off season. Every local we met was delighted we’d bothered to come into their establishment and offered us discounts on everything. We got an en suite room with a balcony and views out to the mountain for the equivalent of $15 Canadian. In addition, we had two kitchens between us and a French couple; it was heavenly. It was my night to cook and I really stretched my culinary limits and whipped up soup and sandwiches, a fitting meal to prepare us for our early morning start on the 3 day journey paddling the Whanganui River.