Winter 2019 - NZ5 Te Kuiti

NZ5 Te Kuiti

Sheep Farms Are Everywhere

We had made reservations on line for the Waitomo Glow Worm Cave for tomorrow, so we needed to haul miles today. It was a day of driving on rural, narrow lanes. We saw lots of sheep on our day trip. Pastoral-looking farm sights greeted us everywhere, the area looked forlorn and yet appealing. A great place to visit, to see and drive past, but I am not sure I could live like that. What do you do all day, sit and watch the grass grow?  I tried doing this when I retired. It didn’t work for me.

Empty Countryside

The country-side of NZ is kind of desolate, or it can be… I think it depends on the nature of the viewer to like it or not. Yes, it’s appealing but it’s another thing altogether to live this way.

We made it this day to the town of Te Kuiti, a sheep town. The claim to fame is the Muster each year, the days when the sheep get shorn for the year, (sometime around Easter) which is fall for NZ. Then the town becomes festive; they have fairs with all things related to ‘sheep’. 

More Sheep Than People in NZ

For all the other days of the year, this town of Te Kuiti is near the big glow-worm attraction of the Waitomo Cave. That’s about it… there are hotels here but not for Te Kuiti, just for Waitomo. We found a converted rail-road station that served meals. We, Carol and I, just had a hamburger each. Each hamburger was U.S. $15.00. No, no fries with it, no veggies, no salad either. That would have been extra charges. 

We Are Not Used to All This Traffic - Coming Into Auckland

We noticed there was lots of traffic when we drove around Auckland and Hamilton, another larger town nearby, on the way in. We have to remember that for tomorrow, on the way out.

If you are into gardening there is a rather large Japanese garden near the town of Te Kuiti, but we did not visit, I cannot say anything about it. 

 

Passing By Auckland

One can also use a bike trail as shown in some advertisements but it’s not really for my age any longer. Te Kuiti was really just a stop over town for us on the way to the Glow-Worm Cave.