New Zealand: Taupo to Wellington

Yes, those are hobbit feet — Bilbo Baggins’, in fact. I’ll explain in a moment.

The final day of the North Island tour was a long ride down to Wellington (see previous New Zealand posts).

Here’s a very rough approximation of the full week’s driving, with an estimated total time-in-transit.

I’ll admit the bus was feeling a little small towards the end. 🙂

But the long ride to Wellington had its moments. Shortly after leaving Taupo, we stopped for a look back at a trio of volcanoes, including the dark, conical Mount Ngauruhoe (“Mt Doom”) that we previously had only seen from the other side, across the lake.

Several more pix: https://photos.app.goo.gl/q6pZ9aVWmLR2PPqs9

A while later, we stopped in Taihape — a town normally wet enough (although now in drought) to bill itself the “gumboot capital of the world,” after a New Zealand comedian popularized a fictional, gumboot-wearing farmer from that town.

The town’s entrance features a giant sculpted gumboot.

There’s an annual Gumboot Day festival there, and a permanent gumboot-throwing lane, with distance markers, where the world championship gumboot-throwing contest is held.

Of course we stopped to try it!

Brief video of some very silly fun: https://photos.app.goo.gl/x2XYZ5FuQktD2gUZA

In the above video, you can see one gumboot on the ground out by the tour leader, who was tossing the others back. The one on the ground — the winning toss — was (drumroll please) mine. Another guy matched it later, so I ended my brief but glorious gumboot-tossing career in a tie for first place.

Pure silliness. 🙂

We then headed to Bulls for lunch; a town that takes its name very seriously.

We finally arrived in Wellington and drove through the city to stop at the Te Kopahou/Red Rocks marine reserve, a beautiful spot at the southern end of the North Island, where Wellington Harbor opens into Cook Strait. We could just make out the hills of the South Island through the sea haze and clouds.

• 

• 

• 

• 

We next visited the Weta workshop, a practical/digital effects and props house that’s worked on many major movies, Lord of the Rings among them. Some of the open-display stuff is from various movies — digital reference models, 3D character studies, and such.

But a lot of the public area is a giant gift shop. 🙂

A few more pix: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vxMqu5TqCUazgGV5A

We then checked into a private room at the outstanding YHA Wellington, and thus ended the guided portion of our trip. It was excellent!

The unguided, er, self-guided, portion was up next: First, a day exploring Wellington, and then on to the South Island: Picton by Cook Strait ferry, Christchurch by Intercity bus, and Greymouth via the Tranzalpine Train.

Permalink: https://langa.com/?p=4430

COMMENT / QUESTION on THIS ITEM? See the Comment box at bottom of this page!

NEW QUESTION? Ask here!

(Want free notification of new content? Click here!)