Today we awoke to more sun with few clouds for our drive to Napier, only about 80 miles away. The first part of the drive is away from the beach through hills and farmland. We saw some cows and a lot of sheep on the hillsides - even a few goats on the steepest slopes. We tried one side trip to see the beach and ran into a locked gate. Another side trip took us up and down some hills but not to the beach either. Pretty country anyway.
 |
| Another railroad bridge |
The road follows the railroad line which could be a nice tourist train, but is only used for freight. We stopped to take a good look at one trestle that straddles 95 meters above the Mohaka River. Unfortunately, the rest stop there offers no views of the trestle. We had to stop by the road bridge and walk part way across to get any pictures.
 |
| Lake Tukirii |
 |
| Lake Tukiri |
We made another stop at Lake Tukiri. This lake was formed by a landslide across the valley about 700 years ago. Lakes formed this way usually only last a few years. The stream soon cuts through the dam and wears it down. In this case, however, the lake found another outlet above the dam relieving the pressure on the dam and allowing the lake to stick around.
 |
| Suspension bridge across the stream |
 |
| Leading to the waterfall |
Our next stop came at a sign for a waterfall. We decided to skip the view when we learned it was an hour trek to the viewing platform. It was still a pretty stop for a short rest.
Our last stop before reaching Napier was at the Esk River Winery where we tasted their wines and purchased a nice rose for the evening. After checking in at our hotel we walked down the beach for lunch and stopped at the grocery store for some breakfast items. We will be here two nights giving us some time at New Zealand’s national aquarium and a couple more wineries on our way to our next stop at Rotorua.
No comments:
Post a Comment