Mt Taranaki

Stuart and I spent the last few days around Mt Taranaki and Egmont National Park. We spent the time hiking and taking in the spectacular views of Mt Taranaki, a dormant volcano situated on New Zealand's West Coast. A Maori legend states that one day the volcano will try to return home to the other mountains in the north, in doing so blazing a trail across the land. Due to this legend no Maori people live between the Mt Taranaki and the northern mountains. After our time around the mountain we headed west on the 'Forgotten Highway' - an old highway, which transverse dense forest. Whangamomona, the only town on the highway declared itself a republic when the government changed old district lines, moving the town into another state. We looked around the town as we passed through, though these days it is more a ghost town with only a handful of people and an old hotel. At the hotel we got a stamp in our passports, welcoming us to the republic, which I thought was a nice touch. We completed the highway, driving the last 12 miles on a gravel road through a gorge and emerged dramatically into the 'real world' at Taumarunui.