A free for all campsite outside Taupo saw Jo and Johnny back in their tent and some nifty rugby practice with Caitlin’s latest ”find”. A sentimental GF Domino’s pizza commemorated our first visit in 2018.
Next morning, Emily and Richard were dropped off at the dam at the head of the Huka Falls and they jogged back to the Falls debating whether the river was flowing back to front. John met them half way having debated with Suse whether the river was flowing back to front. Richard just smiled and assumed it was hereditary. The afternoon saw another maritime outing at a more sedate pace to see some Maori carving. The cabin crew on the Ernest Kemp (a very nice pleasure cruiser) also convinced us that the weather was too good not to attempt the Tongariro Crossing. So finally, we made the decision that Emily, Richard and John were going to do it and booked into a holiday park which ran a shuttle service.
The weather lived up to its part whereas The Crossing, although memorable, was in our opinion pretty easy and a bit “over-egged”. We got some great pictures none of which were available the next day when the mist came down. Another memorable event was the look of relief on Richard’s face when he found his wallet in the campsite kitchen.
From here we turned northwards and worked our way back to Auckland via Hamilton Gardens and another tent friendly stopover somewhere near Huntly.
We joined the Birches, & Jo & Johnny for a night in an hotel in Auckland where we took part in the All Blacks experience and were singularly unsuccessful at finding somewhere to eat, resulting in various takeaways in the Birch’s luxury accommodation. The following morning, the Coons left the Hargreaves and Birches to do city things and set off into the Northlands.
