It’s the last day of the year and I have a Bishop’s Cake in the oven, the ironing is done, the rain is falling and the whole of New Zealand is washed out. Oh I am so glad we got home from our massive road trip yesterday. We drove about 2,000 kms and saw scenery that was as diverse as a child’s picture book. Each corner we turned was like a page, as we drove past beaches, rivers, farmland and native bush.

Christmas was in Wanganui and the sun shone on Lyn’s beautiful home, and John and I posed by roses, lilies and lemon trees.

We fed grapefruit to her sheep that were sheltering from the sun, reminiscent of a Pre-Raphaelite painting.

I was very disconcerted when Lily the pet lamb (now approaching 20 and the new mother of twins) came up to kiss my new pink skirt with frothy yellow teeth… I made a hasty retreat.

I had to smile overhearing John talking to a lady at Christmas lunch. He was asking her if they export the cattle to Indonesia as they do in Australia. She looked at him very oddly, ‘Export the Catholics? Well I can’t be sure…’

The next day, we followed the Wanganui River up to Pipiriki,

past hamlets called the unlikely names of Athens, London and Jerusalem. Sister Aubert founded a convent there in the 19^th C and I looked around the beautiful little church attached. I took some quiet time to reflect.

Mountains dominated the landscape. On our way to Wanganui we were overshadowed by Mt Taranaki, where the Tom Cruise ‘Last Samurai’ was filmed.

Then we drove east, down the Desert Road, with scenery so like the bleak moorlands that surround Dalwhinnie and Laggan, and where the NZ soldiers train on their elbows in their camouflage outfits and get ready for wars.

Being in the Pacific Ring of Fire, we were in the heart of the trio of active volcanoes and decided to make the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. 20 kms of agonising climbs and descents, and with a bag full of provisions and a variety of clothing we set off from Turangi.

It was drizzly to start, but as we reached the saddle between Ngauruhoe and Tongariro the sun came out, and we could appreciate the awesome beauty of the place. We walked through landscape in the crater’s belly, and could have been on the moon; we read a sign that said if we heard any rumbles we had to run… quite. Apparently it blew up in 1995-96.

Then we reached the volcano’s red crater, steaming ominously, and I felt just a little afraid and found out later that the scenery was used for Morder in Lord of the Rings.  We oohed and aaahed at the emerald and blue lakes,

and slipped down the black scree, feeling quite liberated. But then after all the magnificence the mist came down, thick and alien and we made the descent unable to see the person in front. It was terrifying. We were totally dependent on the white poles marking the track as it zigzagged down for 800m. My toe nails will never recover from being shoved back into my toes, and at the end of the ordeal I felt as though I had danced for 5 hours on a hard stage with Anna Pavlova.

We took ourselves off to the thermal pools and soaked in temperatures of 40 degrees. I cannot describe the feeling of bliss! But to no avail, the next morning we both walked as though we had been hit by a train!

The bus driver taking us back to Turangi was full of the local gossip. A 17 year old youth had been arrested for sexually attacking a 5 year old girl in a campsite. According to the gossipy bus driver, he was from out of town but had come to be with the Mad Mongrel Chapter of the Hell’s Angels in Turangi. New Zealand is riddled with these gangs, and we were so alarmed at the stories connected with such peaceful looking towns. Anyway, the Mongrels had vowed  to kill the youth. They were going to slice him a bit, then spreadeagle him in the bush and leave him for the wild pigs to eat. Then the bus driver pointed out the place where he had seen the pigs… not so far from where we had walked. Dear God.

We drove to Taupo and saw the lake and drank coffee in such a cool pottery and John wanted to buy just about all the lady’s stock! We might have done, but how on earth would we have got the frog, the poppies, and fairies home I wonder!!  Not to mention the pukekos.

We drove south to Napier, where for miles and miles we saw only trees and bush, and pine trees marching over mountains, looking like the bristles on an angry dog.

Napier was a total surprise. It is the Art Deco capital of the world. It was not till later I found out that Napier had been the victim of an earthquake, the worst natural disaster in New Zealand (until Christchurch) and the city had been totally destroyed in 1929. The rebuild took place in the ‘30s, hence all the building and style of the place. Quaint.

It was there we stayed in a luxurious motel where we caught our breath and enjoyed the bubbles of the local Hawke’s Bay wine, and the ensuite spa! Nice.

We drove on to Gisborne and were met with a population of ‘sweet young things’. They had all gathered for the annual ‘T in the Park’ or ‘Drams in the field’ or the Kiwi equivalent. The booze shops were doing an amazing trade, and when we tried to stock up with some wine and whisky we were in a queue of about 30! It is NZ’s biggest music festival held for the New Year. Poor things will be having a soggy time of it. So glad we are home and dry.

Captain Cook arrived in a bay in Gisborne and went ashore to stock up on food and water, but the local Maori chief must have organised a Hakka and the result was bloodshed, bad feeling and the captain retreating with no fresh supplies, and sulkily named the area ‘Poverty Bay’!

The drive back over the mountains was like being in the land of the long winding roads, feeling at times never ending,

but we came to the Bay of Plenty (!) and we were glad to get a bed for the night in Whakatani.

The rain came down and it hasn’t stopped.

Now it is New Year’s Eve, and another year is over. What will 2012 bring? Whatever, we must be positive and optimistic, but first I must vacuum, for you must never let the New Year come in on the old year’s dirt. Then it will be time to be thinking of a toast for the bells! Happy New Year from New Zealand!