Traversing North Island

Now begins the ten day journey traversing North Island from Wanganui to the Coromandel along the “thermal explorer highway”. The route will take us through the heart of Mordor (Mt Ngauruhoe volcano) and lead us eventually into the Shire.



















We follow the winding Wanganui River on a hot afternoon and seek refuge in the small town of Jerusalem where a mission church stands among peach trees. Inside the cool church, ornate with Maori carvings, we fall into a stupor / afternoon nap before continuing on our way. We pass the standing Maori canoe on a small village green that Corrina slept under seventeen years ago and then pass out of the native bush and suddenly into clear cut pine forest. Another few bends in the road brings us into full view of the twin volcanoes that dominate central north island.

“Volcano Lover” Ryan is hellbent to get Yinka as far as possible to the mouth of the volcano and with phenomenal energy and salmon-like determination drives the wheelchair up the rocky road to the cinder strewn plains below the crater.


The area to the east of the volcano is rain shadow desert and volcano top rainfall streams are harvested for hydro-electric power, the lake below being promoted as trout capital of the world. The small town of Turangi is home to Valentino’s Italian restaurant who can trace its ancestry to the Italian immigrants who built the tunnels for the hydro-electric complex. We stay an extra day as Valentino’s is closed when we arrive. There's nothing else but we eat like kings.

On lake Taupo we see a huge black swan colony and Maori carvings that are not ancient (late 70’s I believe) but inspired by old carvings and designs.

We find our way to “paradise springs” where hot water pours into the lake in the natural setting of ferns, rocks and slime. A rare and beautiful experience in nature


In Rotorua we stay right next to the Maori village in a Korean run backpackers in a bid to escape the wall to wall motel strip. The Maori village offers geyser cooked sweet corn and audience participation in the dance performance The feeling is one of ongoing community life with cheerful professionalism to the art of hospitality and tour giving, with a daily tourist season of a few hours. A fence divides off the government run Maori experience in a separate adjoining area where villagers also have jobs.><

We are all quite glad to leave Rotorua and find ourselves in soft rain in the river valley running alongside mist wrapped forest at the town of Te Aroha, meaning love.

Finally sunrise at Cathedral Cove, Hahei, where the world’s day first begins –on New Zealand’s eastern shore.