Caught in the rain on the Central North Island

Hallo!

During our first weeks here together in New Zealand (Rainer arrived for his holidays :-) ) we went south on the North Island to  visit the central plateau. Unfortunately we got caught more than less in a bad weather front and had very much rain and cloudy days.

When looking at the tourist "must do" here on the central North Island we would like to create our own "must do" list instead:

• drive the most scenic road when it is cloudy and rainy
• stop at THE amazing, spectacular lookout in heavy rain with no view
• get lost in the "forgotten valley" being the only tourist in the damp and rainy campground
• look at postcards of what "you are supposed to see here in good weather"
• reserve a much sought-afer bed in the huts for the Tongariro Circuit Treck only to not do it, because of the severe weather warnings
• walking tracks in your bathing suit because you know you will get totally wet anyway
• frequently drink coffee indoors escaping rain
• ask people at the info center for the weather forecast (although you already know it) only to hear them say "rainy and cloudy" crushing your last hope
• drink a bottle of wine every day or at least some cider and/or beer to cheer up :-)
• keep your good  mood at any point in time ;-) 

So instead of the standard "must do" we adhered to our own "must do" list :) But we wanted to go "off the beaten track" anyway ;) Who wants to do standard tourist things ;)

Have a look at the pictures to take part. :-)

Best regards, Renate