Our motel was opposite a service station so despite packing a bag of apples & bananas for breakfast we called into Burger King for breakfast

We decided to drive from Turangi to the Tongariro Nation Park, home to Mount Ngauruhoe (aka Mount Doom) Mount Tongariro & Mount Ruapehu - all of which are volcanoes. The views would have been amazing had it not been ridiculously cloudy. We literally could see nothing of the view. Could just see the bushes & scrub land and rocks at the side of the road, and as we got higher (1672m up Mount Ruapehu to the ski village), snow!

As we descended back towards the highway the cloud was lifting & we even had some sunshine (not that it lasted long!) But there was no time to hang around and wait for the mountains to come to us, it was time we went to the next mountain - mount tarenaki just outside New Plymouth

The route to New Plymouth took us along the Forgotten World Highway. It's only 100miles but the guidebooks warn it will take 4 hours & best part of a tank of petrol. It's a twisty road through hills & along the Tangarakau gorge before rising up and over the hills again.

The views were fascinating - there were hills on hills. At the side of the road the steep rocky cliffs showed all the layers of rock which explained why so many of the hills look like there are steps in them. In several places there had been small land lips and there were rocks all over the road, or in some places only half the road remained!
We saw lots of sheep and cows - and at one point found ourself in the middle of a heard of cows as the farmer took them up the road from one field to another

We also went through a village called Whangamomona which after a falling out with the local councils is its own republic!

As we neared Stratford Mount Taranaki should be visible, but it wasn't, it was too cloudy which was a shame. We drove to Egmont national park and was able to drive 1172m up Mount Taranaki - and we still couldn't see very much! Despite the wind & rain we walked up a little way up to the point amateur hikers without equipment & experience are advised to turn back - and we still couldn't see much! Such a shame

It was getting dark as we drove into New Plymouth so we didn't stop. The road back to Hamilton went along the coast and through more hills - again it probably would have been a nice drive had it been daylight. That's the issue with coming away in winter, it gets dark just after 5 & cuts the amount of time to see scenery in half. I'll just have to come back!

Ps Dad - the route followed a railway pretty much the whole way to New Plymouth inc through the hills - you should look up Raurimi Spiral Railway!