Mostly this is about roads.

I drove to Wanganui last Thursday night. In typical ostrich style, I was oblivious to weather issues down the line. All I knew was that SH4 between Raetihi and Wanganui was closed, thanks to an early morning heads up from my aunt. After a very busy day at work, I hit the north western heading east by 4:15pm. (Still not early enough to beat the rush though.) The slow ride out of Auckland gave me time to inspect my map book, and I plotted my route down SH1, 2, 27, and back onto SH1 right through until south of Hunterville, where I would hop over to SH3 and cruise into Wanganui, a projected six and a half hour trip.

I was close to SH27 when Ange called to tell me that the Desert Road was closed, so I needed to be on the other side of the island to get around the Central Plateau via SH4. As it happened, I got as far as Turangi on SH1, charged to National Park on 47 and 48, dropped down to Ohakune on 4 and 49 then rejoined SH1 at Waiouru. By the time I got through to Turakina on SH3 I figured I was home and hosed, so it was with some surprise that I almost ploughed into a large pile of mud that had slid right across the road. Having survived several scrapes with black ice, I could barely believe it when I encountered a virtual river flowing over the road just south of Wanganui. And all in all (breaks included) it took me eight and a half hours!

Enough about roads and driving conditions. I had a great weekend in Wanganui, Maxwell and Hunterville. During some downtime I bought a book which makes me Very Happy - 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I have got a head start and have only 944 left to get through.
On the drive over to H-ville we passed the aftermath of high waters at Whangaehu (just the one more road mention, that's it now promise). And I watched the rugby! Sort of. Sweet weekend, great to catch up with friends. And in the aftermath, I felt a bit like I'd wandered into the plot of a Jane Austen novel. What a contrast.