Friday 2nd April 2010: Knowing that the Tranz Scenic Overlander was going to be an hour or two late into National Park gave me time to stop at places I don't normally stop. The most interesting places were, surprisingly, around Patea. There is the new whale bone sculpture (minus the stones someone took), the coast running north of the river is amazing and the restoration of the old Patea Freezing Works site (covering the asbestos contaminated earth) created some interesting views.

So after lunch at the National Park Railway station, the Tranz Scenic Overlander finally arrived at 1554hr (3 hours late). We didn't have time for the planned walk to Taranaki Falls, so we just headed for the Skotel and got settled in. A few drinks on the balcony with great views of Ngauruhoe helped make up for the delay.