Today was supposed to start with a quick and early breakfast and off to Te Papa museum in Wellington. Which really, it did.... It was actually an earlier start than anticipated, and the museum was only a 5 minute drive, so the first cafe I could find a parking spot in front of, filled the bill. It happened to be Gemini cafe, and at first, it appeared to be more of a lunch and dinner place, and it was actually kind of tempting to order a Pineapple Lump Martini for breakfast. But 9:30 a.m. is just a bit early for rum - for me anyway.
Breakfast items finally were located on the menu, and they had an eggs bene that seemed perfect - with grilled halloumi instead of peameal! Peameal is kind of a Canadian thing, so I wasn't really expecting it anyway, but now I wish more places in Canada would offer halloumi as a choice - it was fantastic! And the presentation - for a breakfast, in an out of the way, very non-busy place - was divine. And now I need croffles in my life....
Parking was almost non-existent at the museum, as we entered the garage, the number of spots was 1 available, and as we approached, it turned to Full. Great. After a quick drive around, a street spot appeared, so I grabbed it. For 2 hours, it was only $10, which seemed like a bargain. Just as it started to sprinkle... When I was at the museum last time - in 2010 - there was a large sculpture out the front that was missing this time. I really must find the photos I had from that first trip to compare...
We are greeted by a gentleman who assures us he is not a volunteer, but is a paid employee, even though there is no entry fee to the museum - only donations. We pour as much cash as we can into the donation box. There are tons of people there, and learn that there are no guided tours available as there are two cruise ships there this week that have booked everything. Yay. It might be wise for the venues that are inundated with cruise ships to reserve a few bookings for non-cruise tourists, to avoid getting a poor reputation for non-availability and a preference for the cruises.
Anyway, there is an exhibit that intrigues us, and we visit Gallipoli, an international award-winning exhibit on the First World War that is gripping, and almost overwhelming in it's realism. There are several bigger-than-life statues that at first are simply amazing, and then after a few of them, become difficult to absorb, and I had to leave before becoming completely...... fortunately there was some cleansing water at the end of the exhibit to sprinkle over me in the Maori fashion. I made use of that.
It took a few moments to collect myself, and reset, settle my spirit from the stories of the war and the personal experiences of a medic, a private, etc., then we chose the Nature exhibit. I got to hear the bird songs of NZ, and the Colossal Squid, but the Earthquake Room was closed for the day for repairs. Darn!
After a wander through the gift shop - even though there were so many other things to see in the museum! - we knew we had to get moving in order to check into our lodging for the evening, a 3.5 hour drive north of Wellington.
As the driver, with very little time - the reception desk closed at 6, and I knew we would want dinner - I wasn't able to get any photos of the drive, although there were many opportunities. The first couple of hours, the scenery was pretty bland - very similar to what I see at home. Then it changed, and the hills got higher, the light got more interesting, there were more twists and turns, but the highway was still in great condition, even if there were a few construction slowdowns.
Arriving in Ohakune, the hotel I had booked was still open, and there were lots of places still open for dinner. We settled in, then walked toward the town center and found a great little Italian place for supper. The food was excellent!
The lodge - LKNZ Lodge and Cafe - offered breakfast, so the plan is to have breakfast early and head out - there are many things to stop and see along the way to Rotorua in the morning. One of the reasons I wanted to stay in this area was so that we could see a couple of volcanoes (hopefully not active), and there were a number of scenic stops along the way that intrigued me, especially Gollum's Pool, really Tawhai Falls. Hopefully we are able to fit everything in! Looking forward to tomorrow, from our Mountain View room.
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