Tamarnui

Visiting one of our favorite places, the iSite, we chatted with a lady who shared about her travels around the world, the changes in the New Zealand economy and agriculture. She also took the time to explain the “Spiral Railway” to us, a length of track that wraps all the way around a mountain so trains could easily ascend it.

Earlier in the day, we had visited the actual site of the railway which was significantly less impressive – we couldn’t see the real railway, only a tiny metal model of it posted right next to the lookout, so it was kind of a joke and we appreciated the real explanation.

Next we hit up Te Kuiti: The “Sheep Shearing Capital of the World.” Yep, that exists. Yes, they have a statue of the Sheep Shearing Champion. It was kind of a ghost town which seemed fairly low-income compared to most of the other cities we’ve visited. Dying for a meal outside of the van, we ended up at one of the few places open – Tiffany’s Cafe. Although some of the items on the menu were a little pricey ($25-30 for a main) we elected to try the burgers. I, of course, ordered the Veggie Burger – which turned out to be probably the best veggie burger I’ve ever had! As we bathed in the comfort of our warm food, we planned the night and talked about plans for Waitomo.