6 Wochen Neuseeland
6 Wochen Neuseeland
vakantio.de/neuseeland_janinajoerg

From Taupo to Wellington - Day 9

Publicerad: 05.03.2018

Today we had to leave the beautiful accommodation in Taupo... and Taupo itself as well. But before that, we visited the Huka Falls. We have never seen such rapid rapids before! Rafting here would be much more exciting than on a tributary of the Rhine :-) Unfortunately, neither kayakers nor a rafting group passed by, what a pity! With this beautiful view in mind, we set off to the south of the North Island.
Huka Falls
Huka Falls
We were there too :)
We were there too :)

Before that, we had to decide whether to drive 'in the middle' of the country, again passing by Lake Taupo, or along the east coast via Napier. We decided for the slightly longer drive via Napier. Napier itself was quite destroyed by the earthquake in 1931. It was rebuilt in the Art Deco style. There were some pretty buildings to admire. The whipping South Pacific was also very exciting, as was the very strong current.
Green hills on the way to Napier
Green hills on the way to Napier
Kiwi Rail train
Kiwi Rail train
Park with sea view in Napier
Park with sea view in Napier
Town Hall of Napier?!
Town Hall of Napier?!
Beach drive in Napier
Beach drive in Napier
Beach in Napier
Beach in Napier


In Taupo and Napier, there were supermarkets that were open until 10 pm, even on Sundays. In Tairua, on the other hand, the shop was closed after 7 pm. Opening hours and working hours here in New Zealand are a bit of an issue. They are comparable to those in Norway. Unlike supermarkets, practically every store opens at 8 am or even 7 am, but closes at 4 pm or at the latest at 5 pm. Only a few have longer opening hours. The cafés also close at 4 pm, at the best coffee time! Many restaurants open at 5 pm. Jörg suspects that New Zealanders have two jobs, in the stores that are open until 4 pm and in the ones that are open in the evening ;-))) Perhaps the opening hours are correlated with the happiness indicator. The happier the population is, the shorter the opening hours, or vice versa.... We wish the New Zealanders and of course the Norwegians every minute of leisure time, but as tourists, we would like to have a piece of cake and a cappuccino at 4:30 pm or would like to visit the souvenir shop around the corner or simply look at a museum (from the inside)... But maybe we are just too poorly organized or sleep too long... :-D

After visiting many viewpoints and a total of 6 hours of driving, we arrived at our accommodation in Wellington at around 9 pm; a small accommodation on Mount Victoria.

The light strings that hold the sun so that the days become longer
Light strings in sight, holding the sun so that the days become longer
Small rain front?!
Small rain front?!

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