After leaving the Tongariro National Park there were two options: Heading down to Ohakune and investigate the opportunities doing a journey on the Whanganui river or driving to the Taranaki area to climb the famous extinct volcano, which is NZ’s most climbed mountain. When we figured we likely will go kayaking at the Abel Tasman National Park in the South Island and thus wouldn’t need to do it here, our first stop was Taumarunui, a dull township you probably won’t find in any travel guide. The reason for going there was filling up the petrol and starting our trip on State Highway 43, also known as “Forgotten World Highway” as it features tiny villages which look they didn’t develop in the past 50 years, old mines, old graves, an old tunnel and so forth from NZ’s pioneer times in the late 19^th century. Continue reading →