We have nearly reached the end of the trip and there haven't been any yarn stores! We asked around and found that we were likely to come across a good yarn selection at the Agrodome on our way from Rotorua to Auckland. The Agrodome is part working farm, part attraction and part shopping. We came in as they were escorting the very patient and well mannered sheep representatives out of the auditorium. Check out all of those breeds!
The woolshed did indeed have some yarn, but none of it struck my fancy. New Zealand is known for merino wool, but it turns out nearly all of it is exported (I'm looking at you, SmartWool!). They do sell a yarn that is part wool and part possum, but since they kill the possum's to harvest the fur, I wasn't so keen on that yarn.
Merino sheep have beautiful horns!
After chatting with one of the staff people in the shop about New Zealand's lack of yarn stores and buying a tea towel with sheep screen printed on it, I bid adieu to the Agrodome.
Speed limit: 100km/hr. Naughty Paul.
We hit the road for our last stint behind the wheel in New Zealand. I had a great time taking shots of the view out of the car windows and inside of the car.
Driving in mirror image! Paul grew so comfortable driving there, where everything is reversed, that he has turned the windshield wipers on instead of the blinker on more than one occasion since we've been back home.
Before returning the car, we took advantage of easy access to one last lookout. Mt. Eden, the site of an extinct volcano, in Auckland gives a great 360 degree view of the city as it is the city's highest natural point.
The distance from Mt. Eden to New York is 14,197 km, in case you were curious.
We were not alone up there! It was a wonderful sunny day and many people were there soaking up the beauty of the view, picnicking, hiking, and sunbathing.
And, taking photos of themselves. There was a lot of that, too.With that, we returned our car, checked into Verandahs for one last night and prepared for our departure in the wee hours of the next morning.
Before departing, we decided to leave our guidebook and our map book behind. Being that those resources and I had been inseparable for 2+ weeks, I felt a little sentimental letting them go. Paul was an excellent driver and I his trusty navigator! I hope whomever picks up our books from the book exchange takes them on wonderful adventures. By the way, I was happy we went with the old school map book instead of a GPS system. There were plenty of opportunities to go digital, but I think there is something really rewarding about navigating by map. I had a lot of fun looking at our surroundings all neatly laid out and labeled.
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