Driving home, my brother and I took a tiki tour further south to Wanganui to visit a cousin and her four kids. The weather was pretty clear, though we had a little rain. This is one of Jbird's and my favourite little towns to fall upon, with a cute downtown, lovely museum and art gallery. The museum documents the early settler days in photographs, some of the few that still exist, I imagine.
Highway four, after Wanganui, is a winding, scenic highway with little traffic. We drove through hilly farmlands, with stunning views of pine tree forests, New Zealand bush, valleys, craggy peaks and the mountains - including 'Mt. Doom'/Mt. Ngarahoe of the famous LOTR trilogy. These were covered in clouds, their foothills and the odd glimpse of snow higher up peaking through, announcing their presence. The gorse and cabbage trees were in bloom.
Though the tiki tour doubled our journey, I treasure the ability to drive here, at home, New Zealand place names flashing passed - Raetihi, Taumaranui, Te Kuiti, Otorohonga, King Country.
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