Well, it is official: New Zealand has had the least number of sunny, hot days this summer since the beginning of record keeping!! Maybe there will be a burst of warm days before our sojourn comes to an end....one can always hope! Sunday, 26 February: We packed up the car and headed for the Taranaki Province on the central west coast of the North Island. We got as far as Sanson ( ?20K) and stopped at the Sunday market...a jumble of fresh fruits and veggies, pickles and preserves, and flea market finds. After a thorough viewing, we bought a bag of apricots and a loaf of Maori Bread and continued our journey nort west through Wanganui to Patea and the beginning of Taranaki. We chose the Surf Coast Highway which goes from Hawera to New Plymouth. We stopped in Hawera, checked out the CBD, and took a photo of the iconic water tower in the center of town. The other attraction of Hawera is that it is where you can begin to see Mt. Taranaki (aka Mt. Egmont). The mountain is in the center of the province and dominates the landscape from every direction. The towns of Taranaki are spread out like a skirt around the base. It is a volcano, and is often shrouded in clouds. We were very fortunate to have a good view of the top as we drove along. We stopped at Opunake and checked into the Opunake Beach Holiday Park Motor Camp which is right on the beach. We had stayed there on our last visit and were pleased to be there again. After we dropped off our baggage, we got in the car again and drove up the mountain to Dawson's Falls Visitors Centre. There is a viewing platform there, and by the time we reached it, the mountain was in full view..not a wisp of a cloud in sight. You can see my photos on my Facebook page. We left the car at the visitors center parking lot and walked down the road to the track to Dawson's Falls...After a short path and 131 steep muddy steps, we had a good view of the falls, and I decided not to go all the way to the bottom. Back up the steps and .5k up the hill to the parking lot, and I had had my exercise for the day. We stopped for fish and chips on the way back to the motor camp and ate on our deck in the fading sunlight...A short walk on the beach was a perfect end to a great day. Monday. 27 February: Another sunny day. We started with a walk on the Opunake beach...just us and the sea birds! We continued our drive north stopping first at Oanui to see the Gas Production Station visitors center. It is an automated multimedia presentation with a scale model of the station and the drilling rig. The video component stresses the importance of safety on the project. Next stop: the Cape Egmont lighthouse. It is just a few kilometres off the main road and short walk up the steps up to the lighthouse. Once there we were treated to the view of the lighthouse with Mt. Taranaki in the background. Then it was on to New Plymouth. We walked a bit through the CBD, and then left the car parked near the entrance to Kawaroa Park and took a stroll on part of the Coastal Walkway...a serene walk on the edge of a very busy city. From New Plymouth we drive to Stratford on the east side of the mountain. Once again, we cehcked in to our motel, dropped our bags, and headed for the mountain. This time we drove up to the Plateau which is the base for parking for the Manganui ski field. Although volcanic, this mountain is covered in trees and scrub even at the top unlike the barren Mt. Ruapehu. Speaking of Ruapehu, what a treat as we truned around to leave the Plateau to be able to see half way across the North Island from Mt. Taranaki to Mt. Ruapehu. Unfortunately, neither the light nor my camera was right for capturing the view. Back in Stratford, we got a take away dinner and had an early night. Tuesday, 28 February: Gray, cold, wet day, but we set out around 10:30 this morning to drive east on Route 43, known as the Forgotten World Highway, from Stratford to Taumaranui. We thought we had taken this road one perilous night in 2006, but as we started along the road today, we realized we had taken another, even smaller road (Route 40) at that time. Route 43 is narrow, but mostly paved, mostly two lanes for 155K through beautiful, isolated countryside. Route 40 is a one lane, unpaved track! We stopped to enjoy the views at the top of the Pohokura and Whangamomana saddles, and to photograph the Whangamomana Hotel, but the weather kept us from taking any of the side roads or walks. We arrived three hours later in Taumaranui, had a hot meal, and headed south to Feilding. The road took us back through Ohakune, but Mt. Ruapehu was nowhere to be found in the clouds and mist. Good to be "home" after a day of driving in the rain. Buzz never complains, but I know how stressful this kind of a driving day can be. R and R tomorrow! Wednesday, 29 February: Sunny, cool, breezy day..excellent for getting laundry dry. Even on vacation there are daily chores to be done. Pot roast and reasted veggies for dinner and then an evening of chamber music at the Regent Theatre in Palmerston North. Cathy and I enjoyed the virtuosity of I Musici, the Italian Chamber Orchestra. Six violins, two violas, two cellos, a base, and a piano...delightful. Buzz and Max stayed home! Thursday: 1 March: Neither driving rain nor gale force wind could keep us from our drive to Dannevirke to have lunch and a visit with Raymond and Doreen Black, Max's brother and sister-in-law. Their welcome was warm, the lunch dcelicious, and it was an altogether enjoyable day. It would seem that autumn has come early to NZ. Even our personal climatologist, Andrew Lorrey, says the outloook is unseasonably cool weather here in March. Oh well, it isn't snow! Freiday: 2 March: The North Island is hunkering down for gale force wind and rain tomorrow; so we decided we had better get a bit of travel in today. Even on a misty gray day, the countryside here is lovely. If one were to drive from Feilding to Kimbolton on the main road, it would probably take about thirty minutes. We chose the raod less traveled and it took almost two hours! We were rewarded with no traffic and a delicious lunch at Hansen's Cafe in Kimbolton. We took another scenic road home, and this time the reward was watching a farmer and his two dogs herding sheep from one paddock to another. They were far enough away to look like a swarm of white ants, but I got a fairly good video. Saturday, 3 March: Fortunately, the worst of the storm, which the Kiwi meteoroligists call a "weather bomb", ( must be some technical lingo) did not come our way, but it has been a cold, miserable day. We consoled ourselves with lunch and a movie in Palmerston North. The movie, Romantics Anonymous, in French with English subtitles was just right for a dreary day. Cathy made a comforting roast dinner, and tomorrow we are off to the Wairarapa in search of better weather.