Napier and Wellington

Today I tried out Hukafalls Jet, the number two rated activity in Taupo according to TripAdvisor. I would have preferred Rapids Jet but we would have had to delay our drive south until 12:30pm from 10:30.

It was pretty good. Fun to do once. Rather expensive at $80. I couldn't help but wonder if it was this one Ben recommended or maybe Rapids Jet, or even another on of the many I've seen all around.

My waterproof camera is starting to give me troubles now. It got some water internally in Cancun, and despite trying to dry it out with silica gel and rice, in the right conditions, water still condenses under the lens ruining shots in the most inopportune moments. This has happened in Bora Bora a couple times and now on Hukafalls Jet. Dang.

After the thrill ride, I was chatting with a couple from Saskatchewan while waiting for Shannon to pick me up. She wasn't interested in the ride and went to take pictures at the waterfall. The Canadians just got here yesterday, they're flight delayed 2 days after the skybridge crashed into their plane due to high winds. Crazy. They were heading north to do White Island and spending two days at the  Waitomo caves.

I think next time if I were to come here, there are a few things I'd have do like another cave tour, White island, and the 7m white water raftable falls.

We had a rainy drive down to the sunniest city in NZ, Napier. It semi-lived up to its reputation because the second week stepped out of the car to the Bluff Lookout, the rain stopped. It was still overcast, but at least not wet.

We also had a walk downtown seeing the Art Deco buildings. It would have been pretty neat living during that era. Kind of like Bioshock. As well did a loop back to the car on Marine Parade.

We skipped gannet watching at Cape Kidnappers because of the weather and after a few more hours of driving south we came across gigantic blades spinning behind hills and peaking over trees. This was the Te Apiti wind farm, a remarkable place!

Eventually we made it to Wellington, the capital of NZ. The drive overall was quite nice once the sun came out. A short stretch of waves crashing against rocks and green mountains was really nice just north of Pukerua Bay. It took some circling to find uStay urban apartments where we scored a deal for $62 in an otherwise sold out city. Apparently, annual reports are due out or something and everyone was having a conference in Wellington.

It took even longer to find parking downtown. In the end, we parked at the parkade beside the hotel but had to wake up at 7am to buy another ticket.