Middle of Everywhere

After Taupo I drove to Rotorua to find a place to stay. I could not find a single room in this tourist town, turned out it was the last three-day summer holiday in NZ. So I drove to the middle-of-nowhere and found a great place in Tokoroa. They actually self-describe as the middle-of-everywhere, which is an excellent example of the quintessential Kiwi optimism that permeates everything here, very refreshing.

It seems everywhere you go here there is a trail. I drove around a bit in rural green hill country that looks like The Shire and found a trail on the Waikato river near a place called Whakamaru. Absolutely beautiful and only a few people in sight. I then drove back on a different route toward Tokoroa and got the pine forest pics below. Many roads here are lined with long greenways that are similar to the photos below.

The common manicured lawn and forest along many of the roads here