The incredible Mount Taranaki

Today there is only a short update from me, as I haven't done much in the last two days. Yesterday was more or less a day of regeneration. In the morning, I used the free Wi-Fi at my campsite to watch the Champions League and talk to my girlfriend on the phone. After that, I drove towards Mount Taranaki, which was my destination for the day. Yesterday felt like the first day since I have been in New Zealand that the weather was bad. Large rain clouds hung over the Tongariro National Park and the volcanoes that were shining in the sun yesterday were no longer visible due to the clouds. It felt like it rained the whole day, but that was not a problem. The sweatpants that I put on in the morning would stay on all day :D After about 3 hours of driving through lots of mountains and switchbacks, I reached the city of New Plymouth. Unfortunately, not really a highlight and quite traffic-heavy. But I was able to fill up my tank super cheap, at least something. After an hour stay at the tourist information, I already wanted to continue. The actual goal for today was Mount Taranaki, as already mentioned. This is the second largest volcanic mountain on the North Island of New Zealand, with a height of 2,518 meters. It also has a perfectly shaped volcanic cone. Unfortunately, nothing of that could be seen today. The cloud cover was so dense and gloomy that you couldn't even guess that there is a beautiful volcano behind it. If I hadn't seen the pictures in my travel guide, I wouldn't have believed it. After leaving New Plymouth, I drove along the surfer highway for a while and then stopped in the next smaller village. This is actually a surfer mecca because of the high waves. But today the village seems deserted. Since I didn't feel really fresh anymore, I decided to stop at the next beautiful campsite and not continue today. After about 20 minutes, I reached a picturesque black sand beach, very secluded from the main road and therefore very quiet. And since camping was allowed there for free, I decided to stay for the night. In the afternoon, I was lying in the camper with the door open, listening to the ocean and reading my book. In the evening, I took a short walk on the beach and went to bed early. This morning, I was awakened by rays of sunshine and I hoped to get a view of Mount Taranaki today. Already on the way back to the main road, I saw its peak emerging from a sea of clouds and the excitement grew. I drove a little further and there it was, the breathtaking volcano Taranaki. Perfectly shaped, with a white snow cap. This is also the most climbed mountain/volcano on the North Island. However, as an inexperienced mountaineer, you should only venture up in the summer months from December. But since I did the crossing only two days ago, that was out of the question anyway. Surprisingly, I recovered very well from the crossing and the muscle soreness is limited. I stopped at Cape Egmont Lighthouse a little further and unfortunately I was not allowed to go up, as it only opens at 09:00 and I was already there shortly after 07:00. After that, I continued along the surfer highway, once around Mount Taranaki, but it quickly disappeared again into a thick layer of clouds and was no longer visible. As you can see from the number of pictures, the sight of this volcano really captivated me and I kept stopping to take a photo. I am now slowly making my way towards Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. The ferry is also waiting for me there, which will take me and my camper to the South Island. I will enjoy the last few days on the North Island and will report to you soon, probably from Wellington.