Taupo sits on the northern shore of Lake Taupo which is New Zealand’s “great lake.” The largest lake in NZ was created by one of the world's greatest volcanic explosions. The huge lake is now known as a trout-fishing paradise.We visited the Taupo Museum and Art Gallery and watched a video of the Taupo Story. There we saw a Maori meeting house, many Maori carvings and artifacts and an old Waka, or canoe. We visited ORA – the Garden of W...

We drove around Napier a bit before following Tom's excellent directions to his farm which is about 20 minutes out of town in a gorgeous rural setting. Tom gave us an excellent guided tour, explaining all aspects of sheep and cattle and timber farming; it was fascinating.First he took us into the barn where the lambs and sheep ready for market are separated from those that need more time in the field. He explained how the sheep are sheared and how the wool is...

We didn't take any photos in Palmerston North nor on the trip to Napier because it rained the entire time. However, as soon as we checked into the Top 10 Campground, the sun came out. We were so lucky that our friend Fred (who is nice enough to look after our house while we are away) suggested that we call his cousin, Maureen, and her husband, Tom. Maureen and Tom live near Napier, and they met us at the campground. After getting acquainted over a glass of wi...

Our campground was right on the bus line, so it was “easy peasy” (as a local lady told me) to go into Wellington without driving our campervan. We weren’t sure of how to find things, so we asked the bus driver who was very helpful. In fact, he pointed out many things to us as he drove us to our first site.It was a very rainy day so it was a good day to visit the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa. It is in an impressive building by the waterfront. I...

We had a quick look at Picton this morning, because we leave today on the afternoon ferry to travel to the North Island. There is a nice park right on the water.Then we found the Interisland Ferry terminal and got in line with the other cars, trucks and campervans. They loaded the ship in a hurry and then we went to the sundeck (level 10) to view the scenery as we left the harbor. The entire journey distance is 50 nautical miles and took about 3 hours. The ship i...