Day 21 Wellington to Ohakune via Paraparaumu

Today will be very short as we unfortunately had no internet.

Yesterday we left Wellington for our next destination Ohakune, but not before enjoying a nice breakfast at the hotel. The drive was about 350 km and took 4.5 hours, and we wanted to leave early. That almost worked out, except for a certain someone who had safely stored their passport in the hotel safe, where it would have stayed until our return flight. So we had to go back to the hotel - luckily the mishap was quickly noticed.

On the way, we stopped in Paraparaumu and played golf at the Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club, where Tiger Woods has played before. It's a links course, like the first golf courses in Scotland. They were located in the dunes area between the beach and the mainland, where they would dry quickly after the rain. This area connected the beach and the land, "linking" them together, hence the term "links course". I love these courses, and this one would have been the most expensive one on our trip, costing 170 NZD. I felt a bit guilty, but it had to be done. When we checked in, we were informed that another member had joined us, which we didn't particularly like, so we only had to pay 52 NZD for the green fee. I couldn't believe it at first, but we saved almost 240 NZD. Fantastic. The course was great, the weather was superb, but our playing partner was a golf jogger, so we had to jog through the round. Unfortunately, that affected our score, although we did manage to score a few birdies - our playing partner even got an eagle; but the round went by quickly. Afterward, we had a bite to eat there and drove straight to our next accommodation - 'The River Lodge', with an amazing view of Mount Ruapehu, a volcano that stands at almost 2,800 meters and is used for skiing in winter. The host is Swiss and his last name is Schlumpf. There was a lot to discuss upon arrival - from Swiss person to quasi-Swiss person. Since we arrived around 6 p.m., we just went out to eat, had some tapas at Cyprus Tree (yes, that's really its name), and the evening ended without internet and blogging. Tomorrow we will embark on a long hike to Mount Doom, 20 km long with various altitudes and alpine terrain. Let's hope the weather cooperates, as the track may be closed.