4th December: Wellington to New Plymouth

My Wellington interviews are finished, and I have to drive North to Auckland, where I'm hoping for a 2nd interview with a consulting company. They've been trying to arrange one for weeks, even in Australia. But I've told them I'm coming to Wellington and they're trying to get the space in people's diaries.

There aren't many routes to take. I'm tempted to go via Taupo again, to try and get a clear sight of Ruapehu. But as I approach the small town of Bulls (and the junction where I have to decide my route), there seem to be clouds in the Taupo direction, whereas the sky is clear over the west coast. So, I ignore Highway 1 to taupo, and follow Highway 3 up the west coast. A couple of hundred kilometres ahead of me lies the Surf Highway, and Mount Taranaki.

There's nothing to commend the drive. It's great weather, but not picturesque - the mountains are too far to the East, and the coast is too far to the West (and even when the coastline gets close, it still manages to hide behind small hills and trees). Johnny Cash keeps me company - a live show at Astbury Park. But this journey is difficult to enjoy.

And then, as I'm leaving a town called Hawera, I get my first sight of Taranaki. I'm shocked, partly because it looks stunning, and partly because it's still 40 miles away! I just wasn't expecting to see it yet, but there it is. And it's not small either, even at this distance. I see its white, snow-capped summit, towering high above a layer of cloud. It's a wide, cone-shaped volcano. Approaching from the south, it looks perfectly symmetrical, and it dominates the landscape much more than I expected. I check the map to make sure it really is that far away. It is.



The rest of the drive, it's hard to share my attention between the road and Taranaki. I look for spots to pull over and take photographs, knowing that they won't do it justice. And those damn clouds again! Not as engulfing as those that permanently hide Ruapehu, but it would be nice to get a clear shot of Taranaki. Still, the wind is blowing in the right direction, so maybe the clouds will clear. I drive on, but they never do.


I eventually stop in New Plymouth. I find a motel, find a bar, talk to a barmaid (again! I wish my life was always like this!). She's a single parent, doing a degree in Social Work. She works two nights a week to get extra money in. Once again, she's pretty (NZ seems to have a lot of pretty barmaids) but initially not very talkative. Maybe she's just looking forward to closing time, or maybe it's because she didn't really enjoy her time in the UK. She spent a year in England and Scotland, and found the people rather unfriendly. I apologise on behalf of Britain. She still wants to travel, and mentions Spain, which cheers me up. I also suggest Ireland, as they're generally a friendly bunch. We chat for a while, and everything relaxes. We finish with an amiable farewell and a few Happy Christmases.

I stroll back to the motel, and sleep soundly.