Heading South

I had one last run through the redwoods in Rotorua before heading south. First I went to Turangi where I met up with Mally (aka Megan). The bus followed a beautiful road past more mountains, fields, and Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. I have yet to get bored of looking out the windows on these rides. As we pulled into the bus stop in Turangi, Mally was just walking up after returning from her hut wardening job in the hills. We exchanged great hugs and excitement on arrival.

We spent the night in Turangi, Mally got packed up, and we ran along the beautiful Tongariro River before heading further south to Wellington (I also tried my first NZ ice cream while in Turangi - there are some unique flavors such as gold rush - Mmmm...).

Now we are staying with Molly, a high school friend of Megan's. We'll spend the day here in Wellington getting all the last minute supplies for our bikes... including some panniers for Mally and a helmet for me (My helmet liked Rotorua so much that it decided to stay behind). We're also planning to see a bit of the capital city and the coastline. I think we'll then join Molly at Rugby practice later this afternoon! Tomorrow we'll take the ferry to the south island and begin our first bike ride. I can't wait!