Nicholas Quirke was sitting in his Rotorua motel room on 11th February  breathing in the sulphurous smells of the area, looking at out at the pelting rain which was  preventing him from enjoying the delights the town had to offer.  It was of course a Sunday and the shops were shut so he could not get a cagoule or umbrella. It would do him good, he thought, to get some rest. He started the day pleased to have finally spoken on FT with Cole who had been injured in a Skateboarding  accident. Fortunately no broken bones but definitely wounded. The weather was still gloomy but on Bryce’s recommendation he was looking forward to his drive through the Whanganui National Park via the Whanganui River Road as opposed to the state highway. It would take him longer but he had plenty of time and a scenic route was top of his list. It was beautiful to be driving alongside the river but he was surprised after a couple of miles to be finding himself driving on an appalling gravel track and he sincerely hoped this would not last. As the track narrowed to a single lane and his progress was impeded by a fallen tree dense forest ahead of him he felt something was wrong. As he was reversing a car came towards him and its driver was able to confirm he was on the wrong road. The advice he was given was totally right, it was a beautiful drive and even the short bursts of rain only made it look more haunting. He stopped regularly and took photos and filmed the eye catching views on his way. Sadly, once he reached Raethi the cloud and rain started to become dense and the amazing alpine views and lakes became obscured. He stopped and photographed what he could; Opotaka an ancient Maori site in the pouring rain where he met a nice talkative couple from Nottingham, swans on a lake, fishermen, but nothing of the spectacular views of the Tongariro Alpine mountain range and the beauty of Lake Taupo were clearly visible to him. He drove on through the rain to Rotorua and the geysers. He checked into his hotel and went to purchase a mac as his Anorak was soaked and was not helping him to keep dry but of course, he discovered that it was Sunday. It was strange how little time meant to him now he was a traveller. He went to visit Te Puia but it was closing in 45 minutes so he decided to come back in the morning to make sure he had an opportunity to see Pohutu Geyser erupt.This seriously meant a night in and he was delighted to find that the WiFi at the motel was superb and he settled down to watch Star Trek Discovery. He manged to some paperwork. Update his blog and get an early night.