Middle Earth Tour Day 12: Behind every mountain is a cloud that is lost

Middle Earth Tour Day 12: Behind every mountain is a cloud that is lost

The Weather not long after I got out of been in Palmerston North felt cold though I still had to go outside.  Once outside it did seem to be clear, but cloudy when I went to get some food. When I left the hostel to catch the bus it was threatening to rain and at some points there were spots. I thought it was going to rain on my walk to the information centre and I was happy that I no longer had to walk to Pitt street which was a bit further. Something I did learn when I arrived at the info centre was that they hired bikes out. I could hire one for the day and then get more done. Brad peddling through town would be an interesting sight and then there would be the mega amount of photos at the end of the day too. That will be a thought for next time I am there. Today my next destination by bus was to National Park Village by bus.

The bus to Auckland came right on time since the stop in Palmerston North was the first stop on the line and I found we had to change at Taumarunui I had to look online to see where it was even though I had been told I would not be leaving the bus. It was actually two stops past where I was going to National Park. I thought that would be good. For some reason the people to Auckland had to change to a whole new bus and the bus that took them that far had to come back to Palmy North. The driver had no idea why. We had a pit stop in Bulls for around 20 mins since we bypassed Feilding as there was no one to pick up. I wandered into the info centre and hoped that the weather was not going to be too bad up on the hill. The lady in the centre looked up the weather and told me it would be between 1 and 4 degrees. That is a touch cold even for me as I don’t have gear that is warm enough for that, but thermals will help. Still I could be really warm even with what I have with me and I doubt I would even attempt to try the higher mountain tops.

The bus took us through the town of Wanganui where I had been several years before, but there was still the road to National Park that I had not been on. I had gotten as far as the River Road to Pipriki, but not gone further than that. The roads are narrow and windy with stunning views especially of the rivers and rapids that are flowing along. The skies were cloudy and I was watching them. We had to stop in Ohakune and we used the loos there as I thought I would need to use them right off the bus to National Park. I was hoping that it wouldn’t be too hard to find or that it wasn’t too big to get stuck anywhere. Close to National Park it started raining and I was a little annoyed that it was like that. I was hoping to have clear enough skies to see the mountains and not something that kind of looked a little like fog on the edges of the road. I was however impressed by the bridge with the railway line going over the gorge or valley as it did look impossible almost like nothing could cross it.

It was pretty sudden when we arrived at National Park and I wasn’t looking forward to getting out of the bus since it was raining and I still had to walk to my hostel where ever that was. The drier did ask me if I knew where I was going and I had said yes.  I thought I could remember, but somehow I had forgotten and thought I did not need a map. Luckily though both bags have wet weather covers and I had mine with the brolly covering my head. I ended up walking back down to the train station even though it was not where I was wanting to go. The one place I didn’t print off a map or even have a look before I left Palmerston North as a reminder. The sign pointed to where I should be going and that was in the other direction. I had made a guess, but I did make it to the hostel. The guy serving me thought I had a great set up with the wet weather gear and also the clips used in climbing to connect both my bags together so I didn’t need to carry anything. The rain had actually gotten a little heavier once I was inside and I wanted to go exploring around town.

What I wanted to do with my exploration of a wet rainy town was to get an eye view of where everything was especially food. I headed down to the railway station first as that had said somewhere they were open til late. Once down there it said closing at 3pm and I had a quick snack before I was off. I did find the school and the streets did seem to be pretty long for a small ton though once I made it out to the main road I found the town was actually blink and you would miss the whole town. It made me feel better that I had found a few more eatery places that catered to the early morning person especially when I found the supermarket connected to the service station. Now I knew where people could buy their food instead of carting it from elsewhere. I needed to by this time have a shower and get the washing done as I was wet. This would take a while and while talking to reception about my plans it was suggested that I could do white water rafting though that is not my cup of tea at all. I wanted to visit the Chateau Tongariro and then go up to the ski resort part for the lifts. I was told that its easier to drop me off at the lifts so I can walk down instead of walking up. That sounded like a better idea than my one. Once I had dinner though the weather began clearing up and some mountains could be seen. I have my bag ready or the mountain tomorrow with water and warmer clothes than what I had today.

Tomorrow we will see what the plans are though even f it is wet I think I would go out as there is only so much you can do inside other than literally climbing the walls as there is mountain climbing areas in here. That is something I will have a go at on the day I leave though the only problem is I dont leave until the afternoon. After going to the small town of Coromandel Town last year I think this is another contender for the smallest town I have been to as it makes Coromandel Town look like a busy town other than the main road. I ended up having a cheap dinner at the pub across from where I am staying and when I ordered my beer I never realised just how big a pint actually was. To Quote Hobbits.... They come in pints?