this morning we left taupo and headed for tongariro national park. there was something remarkable about the kiwi experience bus we rode today. first of all, there were only 6 passengers in total. but the more shocking thing was one of the seats actually had a net on the back. one of those little pocket type holders for your stuff. every kiwi bus we have been on has all of them ripped off. it was so miraculous, i had to document it. anyway, there were so few on the bus that the driver decided it would be best if they didn't stop at the usual spot of river valley for the night, but went straight to wellington instead.

kiwi bus seat with a net, a true rarity!

on the road, off to the side was a field of sheep. what was unusual was that they were practically marching. all the sheep all lined up. one line. single formation. further back we saw that there were 3 lines of sheep. i didn't notice any dogs directing them but there must have been to get them so neatly organized. then we stopped for a bit in turangi, which is inbewteen the southern end of lake tuapo and the northern end of tongariro national park. when we were first in taupo and talked to a guy at the visitor information center, he made it seem like it was such a big fucking deal to get down to turgani. others we talked to said it would take about 1 hour to drive down there. we were in a bus and it took us 45 minutes tops. cars were passing us too! we stopped to lookout onto lake taupo and then later stopped for another vista, this time of the mountains of tongariro national park: mt. tongariro, mt. ngauhuroe (actually just a vent of tongariro), mt. hauhungatahi, mt. ruapehu.

anyone recognize mt. doom and mordor?

on the road again, saw a sign to watch out for kiwi birds. that's the first time i've seen such a sign. until now, the only kiwi signs i've seen have been at souvenir shops. it wasn't that much further to the grand chateau inside the park. again, the info center guy made it seem like it was such a big fucking deal to get a transfer bus to the grand chateau AND THEN another bus to the whakapapa visitor center. you could easily walk the distance between the grand chateau and the whakapapa info center. we were fucking pissed off and laughing at the same time when we saw how close everything was. new zealanders! they probably live most of their lives in a 5 mile radius. oh i'm sorry, a 5 km radius. anyway, things aren't that far away and we're here so it's alright. everything's working out.

railroad tracks in owhango

we left the bus at whakapapa and waited for someone from the forest lodge in owhango to pick us up. we are going to stay there and go on the lord of the rings tour they offer tomorrow. it's about a 30 minute drive to owhango and we're really appreciative that they picked us up. the coolest part is we're the only ones staying in the backpacker section tonight. it's 1 building that is divided into backpackers and motel. separate entities. it's like we're staying at someone's vacation house. just our own little private place tonight. the only thing i really don't like is the moths. there are a lot of moths. i am not an insect person.

if you don't know where owhango is, it's located at latitude 39 degrees south