An early morning run for Andy, who is back to his daily 10k addiction.

With today having originally been our planned 25k hike along the Tongariro Crossing, we decided to drive down to Palmerston North earlier and see what was on offer over the 3hr/150 mile journey.

It soon became clear why our hike had to be cancelled, as the clouds and rain set in at the lakeside, we can only imagine how limited the visibility and heaviness of rainfall in the mountains above us where we had been due to be walking.

We drove for almost 2hrs before the rain showed any signs of stopping. In fact it was only when we were 25 miles north of Palmerston North, at a place called Stormy Point Lookout, that we were able to stop and take in the rolling countryside.

We decided to stop in a place called Feilding, a picturesque rural town with a well established farmers market and a randomly a Coach House Museum.

We had a wander around the town, which was eerily quiet and headed to the edge of the downtown to have a look around the Coach House Museum.

Outside the main entrance to the museum, were various murals of days gone by, however when Andy got to the museum entrance he was surprised to learn that it was closed for lunch!

Just before arriving in Palmerston North, we drove past the wonderful outside Manawatu Gorge, with forested hills and native bushland. Sadly the rain had returned so we decided to carry on with our drive and make our way to the city centre.

We first made our way to tonight’s B&B, dropped off our bags, before going to explore the city centre.

The city sits adjacent to Manawatu River and Victoria Esplanade, a sprawling park with a duck pond and rose gardens.

Our walk back along the river offered up views out from the city towards Keeble’s Bush, a forest on the hillside looking down on the city.

After looking around the city, which in fairness doesn’t have too many ‘standouts’, we picked up food from the local Woolworths and returned to the B&B for a quiet night.

Tomorrow we have a 60 mile drive south to the capital city, Wellington where we have booked two nights before we get the ferry to the South Island.

In the South Island we plan to see Blenheim, Christchurch, Dunedin, Queenstown along with visits to Milford Sound and Franz Josef Glacier to name but a few.