Hello again North Island

Lots of pictures involving water today as we made our way from the South Island to the North for the last time on this trip. Our ferry was leaving at 9:05am so we had to be up, packed, out and checked in at the ferry terminal by 8am. It meant an early start but luckily the Top 10 site we were staying in was only a couple of minutes from the ferry terminal. After we sat in the car queuing for what always feels like 6 hours, we finally made our way onto the upper level of the boat. We brought our steering lock with us from our car and are sort of in auto pilot with always putting it on when we get out the car. As we got out an older gentlemen from the car infront laughed and asked me where I thought the thieves would be taking it. I guess he did have a very valid point. I spent most of the ferry ride outside on the side decks admiring the scenery and trying to spot dolphins. It didn't take Nick long to join me as soon as he realised that he will be spending 5-6 hours sat in a car after we get off so he should make the most of being able to stand up while he can. The sounds were as beautiful as ever but we didn't see any dolphins on our way out to sea which was a shame because that's where we saw them last time. After an hour or two we were out in the open ocean and for the first time of all the times we've been on this ferry we could see the other island in the distance on the horizon. It really put into perspective how close they are to each other and you could see why once the Maori had settled on one why they soon ventured over to the other. As we approached Wellington harbour we were sat out on deck when Nick spotted dolphins jumping out to the side of the boat. We raced over and I caught a glimpse of two jumping and then just like that they were completely gone. It happened so quickly that you didn't even have time to consider taking a photo which actually made me realise how nice it was to just be in the moment sometimes and just enjoy the experience. Soon we were back in the car and back on solid ground again. After navigating the lovely highways around Wellington one last time we were on our way north towards lake Taupo. We made only one quick pit stop on the way up to use the toilet and grab some coffees quickly before setting off again. After passing through the volcanic region of the Tongariro national park with a continual view of the mountain used as Mt. Doom, we arrived at lake Taupo and the next Top 10 site on our list. Rather annoyingly the site is set right on the lakeside, which is beautiful but it has highway 1 running right through the middle of it splitting it in half. Our cabin is on the side away from the lake and with the trucks coming past at 100km/h it's pretty noisy. We will definitely be sleeping with ear plugs that's for sure!Read more