Great Kiwi road trip: Day 5 - Desert Road, Wellington and Cook Strait

The heater wasn’t function well and we had very uncomfortable, cold sleep last night. Thank Goodness we parked our car just outside the room, so the minute we checked out the room, we stormed into the car to keep ourselves warm. As we going to catch up the Interisland ferry from Wellington to Picton at 2.30PM, we left Taupo early this morning. The total distance from Taupo to Wellington will take 4 and half hours to complete 385km journey. 

Outside temperature was 4°C and the whole town still at dusk. From Taupo, we were driving along the shore of Lake Taupo for about 46 km before we reached the Turangi. Turangi is the hub of trout fishing in the region. The entire Lake Taupo was covered by the fog and mist. 

As we left Turangi, further south the SH1 ascend onto the north island volcanic plateau, passing through the border of Tongariro National Park and into the Rangipo Desert. We missed the opportunity to do the TongariroAlpine Crossing during our time in NZ. This walk is widely regarded as NZ’s best one day hike that offers incredible diversity from snow-capped snows to coloured crater lakes. My husband and I were totally stunned by the view of Mt.Ruapehoe and Mt. Ngauruhoe, which stand next to each other. The entire route from Rangipo towards Waiouru is 10 km long, and covered with the rugged mountains and grasses. It’s just amazing how quickly the scenery changed from a geothermal area to the rugged mountain, and then the green farms came into view after the Desert road. 

Desert Road

Left: Mt. Ruapehu; Right: Mt. Ngauruhoe - the stand in as Mt. Doom in LOTR film

Waiouru is the army base which houses one of the most interesting museums – QE2 army memorial museum in NZ. We passed by the town and drove further southward the town of Taihape (the Gumboot throwing capital in the world). The landscapes now dominated by the rivers, valleys and more green farmlands. More little towns came into sight: Mangaweka, Hunterville, Marton and Bulls, as a mark that we were already halfway through our journey to Wellington. 

The journey from Palmerston North to Wellington took us to pass by the towns of Shannon, Levin and Otaki. These towns are much populated with clothing; gourmet cheese making and fruit processing factories come into sight. The road conditions in NZ are too good to believe, we were in Wellington when half past 11AM. 

Road trip towards Wellington

Wellington, the capital of NZ is the third largest cities after Auckland and Christchurch. With a population of 320,000, this place is compact and full of characters. Though most people here are working for government, we still find the people here are wearing very formal and walk very fast. As the whole city is nestled between the shore of Cook Strait and hillside, this city is often regarded as a windy city or geology similar to San Francisco in US. 

We had so limited time in Wellington that we only explored a corner of the downtown, and took their classical tram off Lambton Quay to the botanical garden uphill, which houses the Tram museum and offers an iconic view of the Wellington downtown and harbor. The tram ride is pleasant and steady, and 2 stops are available before the final stop at botanical garden. 

Top: Botanical garden; Bottom: The view of Wellington city

The weather was just nice in Wellington today. The botanical garden has much to offer despite the stunning view of Wellington city, rose garden and observatory towers are one the few examples. 

After the short stopover at Wellington, we were on board of the interislander ferry to travel across the Cook Strait. This ferry is referred as one of the most spectacular cruises in the world because of the breathtaking scenery it gives. The entire ferry is so big that it has four to five decks. The lowest deck is the vehicles parking place, and passengers are freely to choose any seat which gives different spectacular view of the Cook Strait. The sea was quite rough and rolly, but we couldn’t resist seeing how beautiful the view is. The whole trip takes 3 hour to travel between Wellington to the South Island’s port – Picton. As windy and chilly outside, it was quite impossible for us to enjoy the view at the outer deck.  

Comfort sofas with a big window to enjoy the view of Cook Strait. You simply couldn't resist this.

Open air deck. Don't be fooled by the blue sky, it was very chilly up there.

That's me covered with blanket. Because sleep is the only way
to kill boredom after you  have chewed a big portion of
Kua Chi, and the destination still not there yet!

As we cruised down the straits, we passed by several islands or entrances to Marlborough Sounds. The reason why the ferry will take at least 3 hours to cross the 142km long of Cook Strait is due to its unpredictable water, which a strong and rough wave can be easily occurred due to the steep cliffs on both sides of shores of the strait. The presence of islands, underwater rocks and the entrance to the sounds, are part of the determinants of the violent waves. This is another good prove of, “the most beautiful place in the world, is often dangerous too”. Nevertheless, we were happy to enjoy the views, though no dolphin or whale is spotted as it should be. 

The scenery in Cook Strait

Picton, the port which serves as an introductory place to welcome visitors to South Island is a small fishing town. As friendly as the town itself, the owner of the motel where we reside in tonight brought us to try one of the best Fish and Chips in town. The tastes of the freshly snapper and blue cod fish, definitely beat the one we tried at Taupo. Now I find, I miss the Snappers very much!