The North Island....aka the wet island

Unfortunately all good things come to an end as did my time on the south island of NZ. It is widely regarded to be the more beautiful of the 2 islands in NZ but there were some things on the North Island that I've been looking forward to for quite some time so it was about that time to head up there.

One thing I was not looking for was rain and bad weather, I think the karma Buddha gave me in Thailand may have come to an end because it rained for the first 8 days I was on the North Island. NZ is somewhat famous for its rain, particularly the west coast of the South Island, but I miraculously escaped from all of that. After comparing stories with fellow travelers it turns out that I luckily had pretty much the best weather possible in pretty much every location while in the South. I guess it rained a bit in Wanaka, but if that is all that I can say that I am extremely lucky since I had virtually perfect weather everywhere else.

Anyway, after crossing the sound between the islands that all changed. Wellington, NZ's capital, was covered in rain. The city itself was quite pleasant though as most of the things I wanted to see were indoors. Like a doctor, apparently I got an ear and sinus infection in Queenstown (all better now) and the National Museum. Which was not only free, but cool of interesting exhibits to occupy my nerdy self for nearly an entire day. I also got to stroll around the government buildings, one of which is shaped like a giant beehive......if only our presidents lived in a beehive. Do to the weather, and me being a bit under the weather I spent a lot of time reading and sleeping in Wellington.

From there is was north to Taupo, which I had heard great things about, but was by far the biggest disappointment I've had in NZ. It was evident that the beauty that is everywhere on the South island was no gone but I was hoping for a bit more. Taupo was suppose to provide that with lakes and mountains but they were less than spectacular at first sight. There is a much more residential feel on the north island than on the south which has been good to see to a certain extent, and there has certainly been a much more diverse atmosphere with Maori people scattered all over as well but Taupo was missing something. Fun. Well, to be fair, it is there if the weather cooperates. The Tongariro Crossing, something I've been wanting to do for months now, was closed due to strong winds and blizzards, the sky diving (cheapest place in NZ) was also canceled for 3 straight days due to high winds. All that there was to do was see the Huka Falls...pretty cool water fall...or walk/run around the lake there, which is the largest in NZ. It was pretty I guess, but I was expecting more after the south island.

At least the kumara are still incredible, I'm trying to devise a plan to bring them home since they are like 12,000 times better than regular potatoes.