New Year's Day.....

And so it was that we set off on our road trip up the North Island......heading for our final destination......Auckland.....the weather looked to be on the improve.......the rain had stopped falling.....the clouds were trying to part......letting the sun shine occasional sparkling rays on us......Grandpa had hired a minivan seating 13, so with only 7 of us, we all had plenty of room......despite the back being piled high with all our bags and suitcases...... we only flew out with 4 suitcases.....but we were going back with 5.....packed to the max of our weight allowance.....we had music to listen to.......maps to enlighten the Angels about our journey.......snacks to stave off the munchies.......and sweeties......tons of yummy traditional New Zealand sweeties.....just cos they were yummy.....and to use as the occasional bribe for quiet behaviour when restlessness started to kick in....well, we had to have something up our sleeves heheheh.


Unfortunately the improvement in the weather as we left Wellington was short lived...... somewhere after Sanson it started drizzling......then continued to gain momentum.......by the time we drove through Wairouru......the gateway town to the 3 central mountains....... Ngauruhoe, Tongariro & Ruapehu......it was torrential. The scenery from Wairouru through to Taupo via the Desert Road.........should have been spectaular with the mountains looming up in the distance.......

Ruapehu (left), Ngauruhoe (conical, centre), Tongariro (right)

and the Rangipo Desert........a barren desert-like landscape........through which we were driving.....giving us plenty to marvel at.......

Rangipo Desert, Central North Island, NZ

The Rangipo Desert sits on the North Island Volcanic Plateau, in the centre of the North Island and, despite receiving 1500 - 2500 mm of rainfall per year, it looks like a wild desolate wasteland.......with a raw, stark, harsh beauty all of it's own. Because of a poor soil quality, drying winds and the mass sterilization of seeds during a series of violent eruptions, particularly ignimbrite flows about 20,000 years ago, the vegetation is mainly tussock and snow grasses......while the headwaters of many small streams, which later to turn into large rivers, gouge deep serrated valleys through the unconsolidated ash and pumice rich earth......heavy snowfalls, uncommon in the rest of the island, frequently occurr in winter....and combined with icy, treacherous conditions, the Desert Road......the only sealed road that dissects Rangipo Desert......is often closed in winter. The Lord of the Rings films were shot in New Zealand, and the Black Gate of Mordor scenes were shot in the Rangipo Desert in 2000.....

The Desert Road

But as we drove through the Desert Road with torrential rain falling as vast silvery sheets, we didn't see any images like those above......all the Angels could see was the road a few metres in front of us, and snatched glimpses of the multi-coloured scoured banks that the road slices through, as we drove past at an almost snail's pace......no snow-capped mountains......no windswept tussock plain......no gorged valleys or dark canyons or shadowy slopes.......just rain and road.....it was a huge disappointment to say the least! And to add insult to injury, just a few days later when Grandpa and Grandma G drove through on their way back to Wellington the weather was clear, fine and sunny, with views to be seen for miles around!

It was still raining as we drove around the lake and into Taupo itself around mid-afternoon .....and continued to do so for the remainder of the night......once at the motel where we were going to rest our heads for the night, we unloaded and stretched ourselves...... after travelling for almost six hours......and then promptly took ourselves off to DeBretts Hot Springs.....an outdoor geothermal hot spring complex with naturally fed mineral hot pools, a water slide, water curtains, spa pool.......set in a lush tropical landscape......it can be quite an exotic setting......

DeBretts Thermal Hot Springs on a Glorious Sunny Day

DeBretts Thermal Hot Springs

but as it was overcast, still raining, and the steam was rising from the pools shrouding the complex in a mystical haze, it had an eery, otherworldly feel......it was really very odd sitting in delicious bath-warm water with cool raindrops tingling your face.

While the Angels and I soaked in the healing, mineral rich, muscle relaxing, skin purifying, toxin eliminating, increasing blood circulation waters.......as they are claimed......Grandpa and Grandma G took a little jaunt to find a supermarket and buy ingredients to rustle up a surprise feast for the Angels and I........no small feat in a tiny motel kitchen with barely adequate apparatus and a dodgy hob which became hot.....burning hot.....when the oven was turned on......ouch.....really ouch......it burnt Grandpa's unsuspecting fingers.....all while we relaxed.....again......waiting for our feast to be delivered.......we were so spoilt.....and it was so yummy!

After Little Lad and Little Miss had been settled into bed for the night, Grandpa produced a pile of old photos in the hope of embarrassing the hell out of me.....old photos of years gone by......images of a very much younger me that my Angels had never seen......but in his rush to pack, he hadn't taken the time to check the contents of his pile .......the randomly gathered stack was also littered with plenty of snapshots of a very much younger Grandpa and Grandma G too......in fact, probably more of them than me.....the laugh was therefore well and truly on Dad.....not me......hehehe

Phew......this has been a rather word-heavy post.....but the next couple of days were a veritable photo-fest frenzy, with tons of natural wonders to keep our trigger-happy fingers popping.......

-xx-

NB....none of these photos were taken by me......they were all found on the internet from public information sites