Day 20: Whititanga, NZ

I made a second attempt to cross the mountains towards Whitianga. I should note that going almost anywhere in NZ requires crossing a mountain, so I quickly got over my constant fear of slips and washouts.

For anyone who has ever heard the saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait 15 minutes"... That saying must have been written for New Zealand. For two days, I have been driving through 15 minutes of beautiful sunshine, then 15 minutes of light clouds and rainbows, then 15 minutes of pouring rain, and the cycle starts over again.

I stayed at the Cat's Pyjamas (not misspelled) in Whitianga... pronounced FityANGa in Maori. I don't know how many times I misspoke before someone corrected me. :) Cat's was an incredibly spacious, neat, and inviting hostel within a minute's walk of "town." "Town" consisted of a 2 square block area of businesses, very reminiscent of Skagway, Alaska. Sue and her 4 kids live behind the hostel, and she was very nice to hang out with me and chat while I was there. The night before had been the only night in the past 2 years that not a single person occupied the hostel. And I was its sole resident that night. I watched a little tv because the internet was down all over town, and in fact down over much of the North Island along with the power in many areas.