Today was going to be a big drive as we were driving from the bottom of the north island to the middle. Anthony and I found this amazing little cafe for breakfast and had the best hot chocolate I have had. We liked it so much that when the rest of the boys woke up we took them as well. After breakfast it was time to say goodbye to Wellington.
We planned our stops in advance to make sure we got a break. Tom had been given advice to try this great cheese ice cream about 1 hour out of Wellington. Sounding good to the rest of us we decided to make that our first stop. After a lot of stuffing around to find this ice cream place to discover it did not sell cheese ice cream and Tom’s friend had forgotten to put a comma between cheese and ice cream. Even though we were disappointed it was still fantastic. I tried Hokey Pokey ice cream which apparently is the New Zealand staple. It was delicious. While we were eating this beautiful old cat came up and sat with us staring longingly at our ice cream. Turns out his name was Kelso and we spent a while patting him and playing with him. His owner said he was 17 years old.
We drove the rest of the way to Taupo. Stopping a couple of times to stretch, have lunch and swap who was driving. The views on the North Island are beautiful different from the south island but still magnificent.
We arrived in Taupo and made a b-line for Taupo De Bretts. They have this huge pool complex which costs $22 to get in. All the main swimming pools are all mineral water and they also have 12 private pools included in the price. This place is amazing and we also visited last time we came to New Zealand. We spent an hour or so soaking in the pools. Anthony and I had a private one and overheated pretty quickly. It is such a pretty place and I wish I could have stayed longer.
When we were done I received a phone call that the Volcano Tour tomorrow would be canceled. We all just looked at Steve as Lord ChipChip strikes again. We finally made it to Rotorua, found Madi!!! Then had a dinner at the Saloon in town. Maria and Graz are arriving tomorrow too.