Today is the last day of our road trip up to the top of the North Island and back again. We spent last night at the Skotel on the slopes of Mt. Ruapehu. It’s lovely here and this was our treat night for the last night of our travels.
We had a lovely meal last night, and a nice breakfast this morning. The room is also nice and comfortable with a view of the mountain. We can’t actually see the mountain as it has only just stopped raining. But it might clear up enough before we leave to see it.
We both got some sleep last night which should see us right for the 4-5 hours of driving we have to do to get home. We’ll be stopping off half-way to have a coffee with my folks, but apart from that, we’ll have the foot hard down to get home.
I am so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.
It has been a fun trip and I got to visit some places I haven’t been before, and return to places I went to as a kid and see how they have changed.
We didn’t get to do everything we wanted, but we still got to do plenty. And that’s got to be good enough.
I wasn’t too sure how my wife would handle the travelling, she is not much of a traveller (yet). But she is already talking about planning for next Christmas, so I guess that’s a good sign.
We did enjoy the drive in our new car. It just seemed to love the open road, and even after driving for hours and hours I didn’t feel cramped or the need to get out and stretch all the time. The car definitely made the trip a lot easier for me that it might have been otherwise.
So now it is time to pack the car for the last time and hit the road south. Soon we will be driving through the rolling fields and river valleys of my youth. It will be good to see them again as we head home.
All I need now is a couple of days to recover from the holiday and then we’ll hit 2018 at full speed.
Bring it on!
Check out my stories here on Steemit
Running Deer
Running Deer - part 1
Running Deer - How legends are born
Charlie Rabbit
Meet Charlie Rabbit
Charlie tides up
Charlie Rabbit and Margery Mouse
Charlie Rabbit and Margery Mouse make music
Little Peppers Adventures
Runaway Rabbit and the hungry fox
Maybe and the land of purple rainbows – A Little Peppers adventure
How Pappa Pepper and Monster Truck the Pepper got their wild hogs - a Little Peppers Adeventure
Dark Angel Regiment of the Space Marines - Mission Files
First Squad Sniper Elite - Zaresith mission
Other stories
Also don't forget to check out my Dad's blog
Who else can tell you stories about impersonating an officer, stealing a military aircraft to go on a booze run, or steal military aircraft and go on an unsanctioned bombing run - and that's all before he turned 18!
Check out @len.george and find out what other madness he got up to!
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Dear thats really nice post.
Keep on the good work.
Follow me @zahidzzs
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Nature is a good teaching; a man who can read nature well, learns wisdom about life. Do you step into the beginning of your philosophical education? A black vulture teaches you a lot; a bear teaches you a lot; the bird that makes its nest and the rosehip that resists frost, they teach you a lot.
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It looks like a beautiful place.
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It's lovely there. It is one of my favorite hotels.
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I am hoping that I will soon be able to do nothing but travel to places like that. I've seen almost all of the US (42 of our states including Hawaii) and have been to a couple of foreign countries but I would really like to visit other countries like New Zealand and Australia.
They are very high on my list right after Ecuador and Peru.
Thanks for sharing your adventures.
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Let me know when you make it out this way and if I can swing some time off I'll show you around a bit ;-)
You will enjoy Ecuador and Peru. They are wonderful countries. There are some really nice people there.
Um... if someone on the street tries to sell you a camera and a small waist pack, see if it has any film in it. If it does it is probably my camera.
I involuntarily donated it to the black market when I was there ;-)
But the police were nice. they didn't charge me the usual US$100 bribe for the police report. They just all stood around and laughed at me.
They are such a lively happy people down that way ;-)
I'd go back in a heartbeat.
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Thanks, I will definitely let you know when I start to plan my trip and keep my eyes open for your camera when I get to Equador.
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hehe thanks ;-)
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When you can see the white papa cliffs on the Rangitikei you know you are close to home.
They were even more striking from the air.
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Save travels and all the best for a new year!!! Road trips...and driving.....I get so car sick. Having a nice car helps. We drove from Florida one year in a Saturn....never.again. We now have an SUV that is super comfortable and I don't mind as much driving while I can't imagine a 4 or 5 hour drive.
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Thanks. We made it home safe and sound. Whew! i drove over 2200 kilometers in the last two weeks, and at the end of it all, I don't hate my car.
That has to be a good thing ;-)
A 4 or 5 hour drive is just like a 1 hour drive, just with more scenery ;-) (oh and more loo breaks hehe)
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well, my husband has to stop every hour it seems, he needs coffee and something to eat....I'm glad you are home safe and sound. 2200 km is a lot of miles. That Florida trip was 2800km one way....we did it in two days - one stay over - and the rest taking turns driving....never. again.
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wow! that's a long drive. At least you could share the driving. that helps. My wife doesn't drive and she too seems to need to eat regularly.
What's that all about? hehe
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I think maybe they still have the implanted chip "are we there yet?" .... hard to say :)
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