New Zealand day 2: forgotten highway

Woke up and packed up the room by 930 and were on our way to the forgotten highway-- two hours drive from taupo. Highway know for its winding roads and primitive world ambience. Thank goodness for the Dramamine that lives in my travel pack-- roads were all over the place but we made it to the start of the highway. A few miles in there was his gorgeous field of purple lavender, we had to stop. Ordered a cappuccino and lemon cream cheese muffin and sat out by the lavender field. The buzz of all the bees was almost deafening. It was very tranquil to just sit and relax.

Onward we continued through the meandering hillside scattered with sheep and cows. We stopped and had lunch in a very tropical area with a river below. All of the bridges throughout the road were one lane and a very long tunnel was also one lane and we couldn't find the lights so that was intense. After about 3 hours along the road we made it back to cell service range and decided to head to the town of wanganui for dinner and rest. Booked a motel online for 60$ drove there and then walked into town for a pint and dinner. Found the Irish pub in town and had 2 pints for $25 and then went to stellar; the restaurant recommended in our lonely plant book. Their Monday special-- $15 steak salad and fries. Matt and I were just talking about how we wanted to have lamb and steak once while here since they are scattered throughout the countryside. Our 15$ steak was a little gristly but came out with a poached egg on top and excellent fries. 33usa$ well spent. We then stopped at a grocery store for water and mince pie for brekke and retreated to our motel. Next day-- drive to Wellington and possibly fly to the South Island.