Day 1 - Wellington to Whakatane

We left at 6.40 in the morning even though I had planned to leave at 6. Stopped for breakfast at around 8 at Paraparamau, then drove right up to Waioru which has got an army outpost, so the cafe over there is called Rations :))) It's actually owned by a second-generation Malaysian Indian whose parents were from Kerala. We had chatted him up the last time we were there and he had told us that he had done his colleging in some Kerala university. We met him today again and to my great surprise he said, 'It's good to see you folks again'. How sweet of him, or maybe it's a business tactic.

Thereafter I took to the wheel and as usual turned into a daredevil :))) overtaking dangerously and all that, but these days I'm a bit more cautious, I must be getting old :((( We crossed the Desert Road, with Mount Raupahu rising majestically on our left. The spring weather seems to have depleted its snow cover somewhat but it still looked stunning and glorious, white-streaked on the sides.

We reached Taupo soon after and the lake was calm this time, glittering blue, with its waters gently lapping the sides. It was hard for me to take my eyes off the lake but the roads were winding and steep, so I missed seeing most of the lake this time.

We crossed Taupo without stopping and just on the way out saw a girl on the side of the road hitch-hiking. So I stopped and we gave her a lift. She wanted to go to Tauranga but we were going to Whakatane so we told her we could drop her off at Rotorua. She seemed to have been partying all night coz she still smelt of alcohol. But she told us that she was going to Tauranga for a family get-together and that her car had broken down. Fair enough. After we dropped her off at Rotorua, M remarked as to how she could be traveling without any belongings, for indeed she had nothing with her, except a coat. So, tongue-in-cheek I told him, that's the best way to travel through life, without any possessions. He didn't look too impressed.

We parked in a petrol station and had our lunch (curd-rice, aachar, and potato sabzi) out of the back of the car. M said we could have found a park to sit and eat but somehow I wanted to get to Whakatane soon. Hmmmm..... Strange behaviour from me, coz I always like to take the journey slow and easy and enjoy it.

M drove through the last leg of the journey from Rotorua to Whakatane. On the way we passed the Rotorua lakes. Beautiful blue jewels, calm and serene, the road hugging the sides. The scenery throughout was breathtakingly beautiful. The rains had made everything green and verdant, the valleys gurgles with little streams and the hills rose green and pockmarked with sheep. Mist hung to the hillsides occasionally and light rain fell here and there. Wildflowers nodded their dainty little colourful heads from the sides of the roads and hills and from crevices in rocks. And the clouds lumped white in the blue sky, fat and voluminous.

We reached Whakatane at around 2.30 and checked into our motel. Our hostess Magdelena is an interesting woman. South African of origin, she came to NZ 10 years ago and started running this motel 2 years ago. We settled in and I was quite tired from the lack of sleep and the drive so I took a little nap. M went for a walk meanwhile. At around 5, we decided to check out the beach at Ohune.

After a 20 minute drive, we reached Ohune, parked the car and went for a stroll along the beach. I had a gala time taking pictures, while the surf roared in the background and then spent itself out, flattening itself on the beach sands. The waves had made interesting patterns on the sand and the foam left behind looked like modern art. After the sun dipped in the horizon and it got a bit chilly, we got back into the car and decided to explore the little harbour, but after a lot of driving didn't find it. So we headed back to the motel.