Ruapehu to Wanganui

Sunday 1^st April, April Fools Day and the end of daylight saving.  Another long drive today to Wanganui.  This is another part of New Zealand that we haven’t really seen on our many visits.  Our drive south took us through tortured countryside.  This area has been subject to much upheaval.  We drove past some spectacular geographic features – huge landslips and fault-lines.  We drove past the volcanoes of Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu which, at 2,797m high had snow on it. On our first visit to NZ in 1996 Mt Ruapehu was erupting and was belching copious amounts of gas into the atmosphere.  We had planned to stop for lunch at Raethi, the last town before Wanganui but the town was shut due to power maintenance, so we continued on through the spectacular scenery to Wanganui.  Unfortunately there weren’t many places to stop and take photos on the winding road.

We arrived in Wanganui and checked into the Castlecliff Seaside Holiday Park for 4 nights.  Our accommodation here is like a little dolls house, very compact and comfortable.  We’ve decided to stay here an extra night and then head into Wellington on Friday.  Easter is coming up so we’ve booked some accommodation and have also booked our tickets on the Inter-Islander Ferry to the South Island on Easter Monday.