"Orchid XP v7" <voi### [at] devnull> wrote in message 
news:47b36eb5@news.povray.org...
> Brian Elliott wrote:
>
>>> Anywhere nice?
>>
>> Definitely.  New Zealand.
>
> Obviously I've never been there - but I'm told it has a pretty 
> comprehensive range of natural habitats...

Sure does.  I find it breathtaking, the changes in landscape type (and 
roads) are often very "sudden".

In some places, the road goes from flat 100km/h highway driving, to a steep 
climb with 25km/h-rated blind bends, a cliff above you on one side of you 
and a deep valley drop on your other.

Improbably steep round grassy hills with clusters of pine trees on top jut 
suddenly out of relatively flat farm pasture land as though they fell there 
out of the sky.

The sheep have short legs on one side to enable them to walk around the 
hills - which are often so steep you wonder how the sheep don't just slide 
off the sides.

Lake Taupo in the centre of the island is over 600 sq. km in size, cold, 
high, clear and full of trout, its waters fed from a snow-capped volcano 
down the south end.  We were staying at a lakeside hotel on New Year's 
night, and walked along the northeastern lakefront path at midnight. A thin 
mist was swirling off the water in a small bay nearby.  I went to the 
shoreline and swished my hand in the water.  It was unexpectedly really 
warm, over 30 deg. C.  I walked in, and the underwater sand was warm too.  I 
swished some sand aside with my feet and only 4cm under the surface, it was 
burning!  In places, you can walk right up to geothermal heat just like 
that.

Driving along Route 3 from New Plymouth (Taranaki region, coastal South-West 
of the North Island), up to Hamilton (Waikato region, North midland), your 
road turns from following the West coastline into following the bottom of a 
steep-sided mountainous valley.  Now, it looks like the road goes from 
level(lsh) travel, to descend DOWN into this valley, and I'm going "HUH?!? 
How can we descend?  We were only just above sea level a moment ago!"  A 
fast rocky stream flows beside the road, but it's flowing the opposite way 
(weirdly looking like it flows UPHILL).  The reality of course is that 
you're driving uphill, but the mountains rise so steeply ahead and around 
the valley's sides, it messes your sense of the horizontal and fools you 
into thinking you're going down.

Passed thru plantation pine forests followed by dry scrub/semi-desert, 
followed by steep-narrow winding passes and up and over and down several 
ranges on the way from Taupo, going South-East to Napier on the East coast.

Driving over tight, steep mountain ranges on the Coromandel peninsula.  It's 
only 30kms across from the West coast to the East snd from a lookout on the 
way between, you see both coasts.  The mountains on the Coromandel's West 
coast go steeply right to the water's edge and the road clings precariously 
to the edge of the heavily-forested land in tight winding corners, where 
there's no room forany other road or settlement.

Wellington:  Beautiful.  Cosmopolitan.  V. hilly.  V. windy (gusts can knock 
you over).  Deep green harbour.  The Victoria (?) railway station has the 
"platform 9-3/4" sign of the Harry Potter movies.

Near Hamilton is the Hobbiton movie set from LOTR.  (didn't go there, but 
saw the signpost)

White sand beaches (Witianga), black sand beaches (Raglan), black pebble 
beaches (Napier), shell beaches (Maunganui).  All on the North island.

Havent even been to the wild South Island yet, where the fjordlands are.  I 
hear they get some of the highest rainfall in the world.

-- 
Brian

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