Wellington to Tongariro National Park

We slowly climbed out of Wellington and drove along the coast on our way to Tongariro. It was cloudy when we left but the sun gradually showed its face and we had a very pleasant drive stopping for coffee on the way where a very kind lady made us some sandwiches for our lunch and cut us some fresh grapes from her vine. The scenery differed from the south in that there were no high mountains but high rounded hills. As we approached our destination the scenery reminded us of Dartmoor and very soon after we arrived it really did resemble it as the mist came down and it poured with rain. Our plan tomorrow is to do a walk we just hope that the rain clears.