Rotorua to Wellington 3/9/13

Awoke early today to head south to Wellington, the Capitol of New Zealand. It's about a 6 hour drive, but we stopped along the way. First stop was Huku Falls by Lake Taupo ( a huge lake and town which is the North Island's gateway to adventure- lots of white water sports, hiking, fishing and skiing). The falls were pretty, aqua colored and result from the Waikato River being forced through a narrow cleft in the rock. We are getting so used to beautiful though...

Next stop was Craters of the Moon, which is a 45 minute walk through fumaroles and mud pots- not worth the stop! So somehow we left the geothermally active area of the island without seeing geysers, hot springs, or mud pots...but we just can't see everything.

On to Wellington, traveling through rolling hills that look a lot like California. It is brown grass now because they have had the hottest summer in 40 years and very little rain. Still beautiful and pastoral, with a billion cows and sheep. Wellington has a big harbor, known for its cafe and bar scene. We arrived at 5:30, grabbed showers and hit the town. Craig wanted to see the bar scene, so we walked to the far end of the city and had beers, then walked to the cafe area and grabbed dinner.

Back at our very nice hotel tonight, then we will see the famous Te Papa museum in the morning before turning in the rental car and grabbing the 1:30 ferry to the South Island.