Stratford without the Avon

Spent the day driving up the Surf Highway which predicatably is next to the beach for much of the way, very scenic and found a great little beach for lunch. Arrived in New Plymouth much earlier than expected so carried on around Mount Taranaki (formerly Mount Egmont) and ended up in Stratford. Yes it is named for Shakespeare's birthplace, all the streets are named things like Warwick and Leamington or characters from his plays - most odd. The lady who runs it is from Yorkshire and knows Warwick well as she goes every year on her way to the Royal Show at Stoneleigh....thus resulting in a strange conversation about home etc.

Next morning, headed out up to the Plateau for great views of the mountain (stand on it's own looking like Mt Fuji in Japan...used in the Last Samauri too as too expensive to film in Japan). Then on to Dawson Falls...more darn steps - honestly must research these things better so we don't have steps every day. Then drove on to Mt Rupahehu (big volcano) and Ohakune (carrot capital of NZ).