We pre-ordered our Uber for 6:50 AM so we could get to the train station by 7:00 AM. As we pulled into the station it seemed odd that there was no train waiting. A worker stopped us before we unloaded the luggage and told us that the train was canceled. Cyclone Hale had unleased a months worth of rain in one night and it washed out sections of track. Several roads were also impassible so the train system was unable to provide any bus service either. That was a rude way to wake up! The worker told us that the regional bus service was our best bet, but that the 9 AM bus was already sold out. Hmmm, what to do? Uber would take us, but at a cost of 300 NZD. I asked our driver if he could take us but he waved us off. The drive was 2.5 to 3 hours long and he was not game. So I tried to book our current driver over to the bus terminal but I could not make it work. We did not want to shift the luggage over to a different car in the rain, so I told him I would just pay him cash to get us over to the busses. Meanwhile Leslie looked up the bus and it was going to take 4 hours, not so pleasant. By this time the driver pulled over and wanted to know exactly where we wanted to go. Perhaps the cash offer earlier got him thinking. He plotted the trip on his phone and made us an offer 350 NZD cash and he would do it. That is $222 which is on the par of the train tickets we would soon be refunded. One quick stop at the ATM and we were on the road, At this rate, our arrival in Otorohanga would be two hours before we would have via the train. We had already arranged for the AirBnB host to pick us up at the train station so we moved the location to the Fat Kiwi Café. We ended up waiting less then an hour before Nic came and got us. The time went fast while we sipped tea and ate some of the amazing baked goods. We bought some of their goodies for lunch and dinner so we are set. The rain is still coming down so we are staying put in this cute house.
Not the greatest weather for a road trip
So glad we are not the ones driving in this
We parallel the train tracks
But there are no trains running today
A bunch of trees
Sheep getting wet with everything else
Māori logs leaning into the wind
Erie trees in the fog
More Māori symbols along the highway
Some big mountains coming up
Pastures and somewhat less rain
A "leg stretch" break in Pirongia
A bit of history on the side of the Hive
Creeks are overflowing
Sandwiches, scones, salads and more
Cows and clouds
Well stocked with everything we needed
Tea and baked goods, a square custard filled doughnut and a ham and egg scone
A cute dining room with our bags to the right
We are at our house!
Birds of paradise flowers
We are loving all the flowers
The front door is not in the front
Beautiful orange flowers
Flowers and oranges!
Lush landscaping
Potential disaster averted!
