Another day: another mountain! In fact today we have 3 mountains and a fantastic view for miles! After our triathlon of yesterday - walk, cycle and spa bath I'm pleased to say we have no ill effects today! We haven't been quite so active today but we have had a very interesting drive.

We travelled for 150km on the Forgotten World Highway, which took us over four saddles in the mountain sense (not the bike) and through a single track tunnel. We passed through some very unusual scenery, which is best explained with a photo, and 12km of the route was on unsealed surface or gravel as we would call it!

Strange scenery from Forgotten World Highway

We got coffee in a bar in Whangamomona, which has declared itself to be a republic! It is so remote and in the middle of nowhere that I guess no one really minds! We stopped several times to photograph the views and at one stop we got talking with a couple from Sutton Coldfield doing a similar trip to us, who recommended a lavender farm for lunch. We took their advice and had a most enjoyable half hour in the garden there eating our lunch! The weather has been good again today with similar temperatures to yesterday.

Part of Lauren's Lavender Farm

The end of our journey was at Whakapapa - an alpine resort in central North Island. Our hotel is the highest in New Zealand and has superb views of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro - the three big mountains in this area. Not only that but we have views up the island to Taupo and beyond. We won't be drawing the curtains tonight!

Once we had checked in we went for a walk locally - in fact two walks! The first took us uphill towards Ruapehu, through forest to start with but emerging into alpine scrub eventually and more great views. Our second walk took us down to a river and we spotted a blue duck otherwise known as a whio, which is another endangered bird.

Mount Ngauruhoe

On the Ridge Trail below Mount Ruapehu

Blue Duck (Whio)

On our return to our room I was a bit surprised to find a dirty footprint in the bath and another on the floor as I was pretty sure I hadn't seen them earlier. Upon enquiry at reception it turned out I was right and that a plumber has been in to fix a broken tap! Must have read too many mystery stories! Not on this holiday though - no time for reading except the guide book!