Once we left Pirongia the next place of interest was Te Kuiti., which is in the King Country. It’s most famous claim to fame is that the rugby players, The Meads brothers came from here. There is now a museum devoted to them and a statue of Colin, described as the Rugby Player of the Century, having played for the All Blacks from 1957-1971.
Once we left Te Kuiti I had the same feeling of leaving civilisation as I had experienced in the past. From there to the end of the Awakino Gorge is very sparsely populated.
We made a brief stop at Piopio: { I’d be fascinated to hear my English friends pronunciation of this) and was surprised to see it looking more affluent than my past memories of it. Shortly after I saw a sign post to somewhere part of ‘The Hobbit’ was filmed and all became clear.
We had a brief stop at Mokau for me to take a photo of the inlet tidal water and then it was non stop to New Plymouth. It really is a scenic and dramatic drive with places like Mount Messenger to negotiate. I always find it disappointing that so few people from the UK choose to make this journey.
Breath-taking views!