Day 25: Drive to Wellington

We spent most of the day driving down to Wellington, with a brief stop at Lake Taupo, about an hour south of Rotorua. Lake Taupo was beautiful (and the sun was out), and we wish we’d spent the day there instead of in Rotorua. The drive was really interesting, in that the terrain kept on changing. We passed through forest, desert, mountains, canyons, and along the coast. We also drove through a lot of small towns, which ranged from cute to depressing.

Unfortunately, we arrived in Wellington after most everything was closed, so we didn’t get to see anything in town. But our hostel for the night, the Moana Lodge, is spectacular! We have a great bed, ocean views, a beautiful kitchen, and a cat. Wellington reminded us a lot of San Fransisco, and we’d like to spend more time there (and everywhere else in New Zealand!), including visiting Te Papa, which I was very sad to miss.

Mary continues to confuse people here, since she's not Maori, doesn't sound African, and doesn't look "American". We've had a couple people assume us to be Brazilian, which seemed like a pretty reasonable guess. A young Maori girl at the supermarket asked Mary where she was from, and upon hearing the states, asked her if she were a singer.

There are tons of fruit and vegetable stands on the sides of the road here, with local produce at great prices. Avocados, plums, apricots, potatoes, apples, bananas, and a variety of other stuff -- we're eating a lot of fruit these days! Imported food is expensive, so we're sticking to local seafood, lamb, and chicken for our protein. Most of the hostels we've stayed in have pretty nice kitchens, so we cook dinner most evenings, and eat a cold lunch we've packed for lunch. The Ozzies and Kiwis seem to understand coffee pretty well, and I've put away quite a few flat whites so far.