Day 9 :: The Road to Wellington
As soon as I woke up, I packed up and left the town called "National Park" near the Tongariro National Park and headed for Wellington - my last destination on New Zealand's north island. The road to Wellington passes through pastures where thousands of sheep graze and winds through steep mountain passes and narrow valleys.
I made a brief stop in the town of Wanganui for brunch - a large town with a charming character, much like a small town in Vermont but with bustling promenade of shops. I sat at an internet cafe and uploaded yesterday's pics from the Tongariro Corssing before heading back onto the road.
Halfway to Wellington, I found sunny skies and a wide sandy beach. I decided to jump into the ocean, take a nap and tan for a little while... while there were no clouds in sight for a change.
I finally reached Wellington around dinner time. It surprised me how much the cultures, geography and temperature reminded me (but not exactly) of San Francisco. Wellington sits on the fringes of steep forested hills and the shoreline of a harbour. Wellington has a great mix of ethnicities as witnessed by the people walking around as well as through the flavours of its many restaurants. Wellington is known as New Zealand's windy city and today, it was very breezy and sunny with a slight chill - much like my experience in San Francisco.
After a short walk along the harbour, I took a 2 hour night tour at the Korari Nature Preserve. This preserve is a wildlife sanctuary for native New Zealand birds (such as Kiwi, Weka, Kaka, etc.) which are devastatingly endangered by mammals introduced by later settlers. With a 5-mile long perimeter fence with tiny holes and specially designed fringes, the preserve reminded me much of Jurassic Park. Luckily, it's birds and not dinosaurs that they keep in the cages.
I made a brief stop in the town of Wanganui for brunch - a large town with a charming character, much like a small town in Vermont but with bustling promenade of shops. I sat at an internet cafe and uploaded yesterday's pics from the Tongariro Corssing before heading back onto the road.
Halfway to Wellington, I found sunny skies and a wide sandy beach. I decided to jump into the ocean, take a nap and tan for a little while... while there were no clouds in sight for a change.
I finally reached Wellington around dinner time. It surprised me how much the cultures, geography and temperature reminded me (but not exactly) of San Francisco. Wellington sits on the fringes of steep forested hills and the shoreline of a harbour. Wellington has a great mix of ethnicities as witnessed by the people walking around as well as through the flavours of its many restaurants. Wellington is known as New Zealand's windy city and today, it was very breezy and sunny with a slight chill - much like my experience in San Francisco.
After a short walk along the harbour, I took a 2 hour night tour at the Korari Nature Preserve. This preserve is a wildlife sanctuary for native New Zealand birds (such as Kiwi, Weka, Kaka, etc.) which are devastatingly endangered by mammals introduced by later settlers. With a 5-mile long perimeter fence with tiny holes and specially designed fringes, the preserve reminded me much of Jurassic Park. Luckily, it's birds and not dinosaurs that they keep in the cages.
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