Return to Taupo

Our overnight stay in front of the Leisureline factory building was not without a trial – it was the best place to be,  as it turned out.  The water pump stopped working, that was after we had filled the kettle and washed the dishes earlier in the evening.  We tried the  bathroom tap too, just to make sure.  But nope – not a drop of water was forthcoming.  This problem was added to the list of things to be looked at by the men in the morning.

It was an early morning start, as we had been warned.  The alarm clock was set to go off at 5.30am, so we were all ready at 6.00am for the caravan to get taken into the factory for it’s annual service.  And there it went, towed away by a forklift.  It would be finished about mid-day, we were told.

Towing the caravan into the factory

So what do we do at 6.30am to fill in the morning?  First on the list was to find a launderette, (yes, again) to attend to yet another load of washing, washed, dried, and folded.  While I was in washer woman mode, Robin went to top up the car with fuel.  Next stop, somewhere for breakfast,  So that’s what we had, a nice leisurely breakfast, a big cup of coffee, and plenty of time to peruse the newspaper.  With a little shopping done, it was time to wander back to collect our van, and get on the road again.

Robin battled with the wind on the drive down SH1.  We passed through Tirau, well known for their Information Centre constructed in the likeness of a corrugated iron dog.

Passing through Tirau

We drove past a paddock full of stags sporting fine sets of velvet covered antlers.  And this is milk production country, with herds of milking cows happily munching grass in the sunshine.

Stags in velvet and Friesian cows

Interesting rock formation

We knew we were getting close to Taupo once we crossed over the bridge onto the by-pass road.  And then caught  a glimpse of the snow touched mountains, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe.

Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe

And at last, after a couple of hours being buffeted by the wind, we finally arrived at the NZMCA site at Taupo Airport.  It’s going to busy here tonight, we were told, as 20 or so vans are stopping here tonight before departing on a safari trip together.

Back at Taupo again