Lake Taupo to Turangi to National Park

At some point we'll have to get Paul to put some clips in here. I understand some people have requested to see our set-up/get-up. He's the man to share about the gear. Although Paul hasn't put in his two cents I'll leave you with some pictures of the the man himself. This was taken this morning at approximately 7:30 AM New Zealand time.



So many things to consider when you're carrying all your gear and yourself from destination to destination. For example...who would've ever thought that you'd get blisters on the bottom of your feet from the pedal downstroke? Who would've thought that a finding a good loaf of bread at the Baker's Delight could put such a big smile on your face? To top it all off, how many decisions do we have to make in one day, Paul? Holy cannoli...this is truly mind boggling! Although life is pretty awesome when you score a Foccacia Supreme for $6.00 at the Baker's Delight...enough food for 2nd breakfast and lunch!

Stopped in the iSite in Taupo and got suckered into catching a shuttle from Turangi to National Park...but we had 55 km (roughly 30+miles) to ride to catch the shuttle at 3:30 PM. Yikes! Could we complete this possible feat without knowing the terrain and what lies ahead? We certainly were going to try with all our strength.

• RULE #1: Don't always listen to the agents at the iSite. I know I gave them praise earlier on in the blog...but, they get paid to promote tourism. Paul and I have learned the hard way.
  
• RULE #2: Ask the locals first...they always know best.
• RULE #3: Make sure you have a lot of money if you're touring New Zealand.
  
• RULE #4: Be prepared mentally to feel like a herd of cattle. If you need more details you can e-mail me at marijomartini@gmail.com and we'll chat.
  

We're now in National Park packing our back packs to do a 3 day hut-to-hut in Tongariro National Park called the Tongariro Crossing. Paul says it's pretty amazing - alpine meadow to mountain summit with stunning volcanic features along the way. You can check out more info. at www.nationalpark.co.nz

We'll be back on the road via train to Wellington by Monday. More posts yet to come...stay tuned for some amazing Tongariro Crossing pictures!