Our primary destination this morning was Mount Taranaki in the Egmont National Park. Unfortunately, our good weather luck ran out and we faced high winds and driven rain. We had planned to hike to the Wilkies Pools and Dawson Falls but decided to forgo the former in the interest of safety. The falls were spectacular and more than justified the drive. I had hoped to photograph the three volcanoes in the park but they were covered in clouds while we were there. With a few extra hours on our hands, we decided to stop at Waihi Beach and were greatly rewarded for the detour. The beach is strewn with huge pieces of driftwood and rocks shaped by the waves and wind. During our visit, the wind speed rarely dipped below 20 mph.

Our final destination for the day was the city of Whanganui, where we visited the Durie Hill Memorial Tower before checking into our quaint AirBnb. Once settled we ventured into the downtown arts district where Jeanine purchased a pair of earrings and we enjoyed a Japanese dinner for a change of pace.