Day 145 - Taupo - Napier, New Zealand

Day 145 – 31st October 2005 +13:00 GMT Total Miles 27663

Had to get up early and pack our bags, we checked out of the hostel just before 10am and drove along the 5 East towards Napier. The drive is lovely and takes you through the remotest parts of the North Island. The drive only took about 90 minutes and we checked straight into the next hostel which was “The Stables Lodge Backpackers” It is a very small place with only about 20 people. Jill and I got a private room but it still had 5 empty beds in it and a whole lot of space for just the two of us. We decided we would wander into the town and spent a couple of hours wandering the shops and we stopped to eat at a local pub. We then walked along the water front and stopped at the information centre to pick up some flyers on what to do. We got back to the hostel and I had a nap for a couple of hours and we then looked at places to stay on the South Island. Then we drove to the supermarket to get bread and milk, we filled up the kitchen then decided it was too busy and we would eat out. So we walked back into town and found a pub where we had food and a few drinks before heading back for the night.