Taranaki still rules
The next day (Wednesday), the images on TV were getting worse. I won’t repeat it again, but large scale destruction of vast swathes of land, especially on the East Coast. Prepared, aided, and abetted by Big Ag and Forestry. Unfuckingbelievable. Taranaki got off pretty light, there were local power outages due to storm damage, but…
The Getaway
Cyclone Gabrielle was closing in fast and by now it was clear that it was going to hit from the East. So we decided to move our asses as far West as possible, which meant New Plymouth. I was lucky and managed to snatch up a beautiful flat on ABB for three days where we…
Palmy rocks, part 2
Because WordPress sucks, I had to split this up. Here’s part 1 about Palmy, if you care. Arapuke Forest Park That’s still not all! We also explored the nearby Arapuke Forest Park and did an improvised loop track, combining the Sledge Track, Arapuke Road, and Back Track Loop. Also well worth the effort, there were…
Palmy rocks! (and wordpress sucks)
It’s a bit hard to top the post-Zealandia emotional high that I get from seeing so many birds, especially parrots. Because we have the same mindset – destroy what destroys you. đ Anyway, we were headed to Palmerston North that day, a town that we’ve never visited before. Our loss for sure since it’s super…
Birds galore
So, very late arrival and thus late departure the next morning. Kinda sorta. First things first, a very delicious breakfast at Neo Cafe on Willis. Pistachio Pancakes for the win! After dragging our fat and well-fed carcasses back to the hotel, we managed to find our car in the garage, checked out and took off…
And finally, a ferry crossing
In Reefton, we took refuge at the Dawson’s Hotel, which was friendly, clean, and comfortable. Just what we needed. Dinner at the pub/hotel was ok, too – pleasantly surprised to find so many veggie options on the menu. Breakfast was another round of our MRE, leftovers from the hikes that did not happen – and…