Day 153 : Fishy Steve No.2

Taupo to Wellington

The Good: Mitchel Johnson

The Bad : Mitchel Johnson

The Ugly:   Mitchel Johnson

We’re settling into stage 6 now and rolling on down to Wellington today, 6+hrs on the road.  Kate and I are quickly into the routine now, assuming our daily roles with with the enthusiasm of a new kid at school.  Me navigation and Kate comms.

Fast fact about Taupo:  Home to New Zealand’s largest lake which was formed in the Caldera of a Volcano which erupted 26,500 years ago.  The lake covers 619 SqKm, has 32 rivers feeding it and is world famous for trout fishing with crystal clear waters.  I like fishing.

An early start meant we had a morning for some fun in Taupo. Weather dictated that we save the adrenaline rush bungy / sky diving action for the South Island and head for a nice spot of fishing (Steve and I) and a dip at the natural hot springs (Kate and Amy).  We were tempted by the guy called Fishy Steve who runs heli-fishing, but we plumped for Dirty Dan and a couple of hours on his boat.  Matched against Steve I was feeling confident – I’m the fisherman in this relationship howeve – five minutes in and Bang – Fishy Steve #2 (the Moore variety) bags a beautiful 3.5lb rainbow trout.  In the next two hours I had the humiliation of losing a fish and catching two tiddlers which oweing to their small size had to be thrown back.  Time to leave Taupo.  Ouch.

Driving and traveling in the engine is the most fun part of this trip and with morale high despite the horizontal rain, we set off for Wellington.  The drive south from Taupo goes through vast, sparsely vegetated pumice fields, which, frankly aren’t the prettiest. But, the novelty of seeing it all for the first time keeps it interesting and as we progressed it all become a little greener.  Entertainment consisted of a quiz (and associated bickering when I lost), listening to the ashes (ouch again) and what seemed a concerted effort by the whole crew to make me lose no swear friday.  Their constant goading worked and I crashed to a big defeat amassing thirteen nasties.  I guess it just wasn’t my day.

Wellington is a cool little city even in the rain, its a shame we didn’t have more time to explore as it seems pretty lively.  The local fire service kindly let us park at their station and after a bite to eat with some old friends (big shout Tom and D) we bedded down before a chunky day down to the South Island.

Keep it legal,

Chris

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