Day 5: Palmerston North - Taihape

The people who run the backpackers here in New Zealand have proved so far to be a very friendly and helpful bunch. Yesterday evening was no exception, with the lady manager giving me a dorm room all to myself. Very much appreciated.

Had the best sleep of the trip so far, and made myself the heartiest breakfast including about 4 cups of tea - the pouring rain outside not exactly a motivation to move on. So it was just after opening time at 10am when I rolled up at the National Museum of New Zealand Rugby. A bit like going to the highest church in the religion!

A pretty good museum, with the added bonus of a couple of other cultural and arts museums downstairs.

From there I steered towards the "scenic route" north towards Taihape from Palmy - though from what I've seen so far every route is a scenic route! Though this one excelled, even in the rain.

You basically follow a river, or it could have been many rivers as the road wound it's way up, down, over and through the most rolling and lush hilly pastureland I think I've ever seen.

The small communities seem to be pretty much deserted as I guess industrialization has removed the need for small local dairies and farm services.

Out of curiosity I took a detour to have a look at the Gravity Canyon where they have bungy, flying fox and other such activities.

On the way back I was a bit worried about how to choose the "sheep of the day" from the thousands of options - when this little scene grabber turned up:-

Stopping again to capture the stunning scenery, including the "panorama of the day", the sun was now starting to peak through the clouds.

A quick stop in the village of Taihape to buy some food for dinner, check in to the Rusty Nail backpackers and get my washing out - thus ensuring my first week will end with a full set of clean clothes and a full belly.

You also get the opportunity to meet a lot of diverse people when staying in backpackers. Today I'm sharing with Hoody, a traveling seasonal sheep-shearer who's just started a 3-4 month stint here in the local area. Though today was a short day as "the sheep got all wet". Hoody then moves down south to the Dunedin area for 3 months before hopping over to Australia for about 6 months. Then the cycle starts again.

This weekend looks like being a big rugby weekend - with both codes involved. Tomorrow morning it's Scotland v. New Zealand in rugby union and then tomorrow evening it's the big rugby league club final from Wellington. But first tonight it's the final of the 4 nations rugby league tournament from Australia, with the Aussies taking on the Kiwis. Should be worth staying up late for!