The next day we were glad to have gone up the mountain last evening - the weather had closed in with intermittent showers, and cloud obscured the peaks from decent photos. Rosie drove as far as the chateau confidently, but the warning was for black ice, so we decided against proceeding further.
Alternative to previous trips, we decided against going through Ohakune, Waiouru, and Taihape to reach the Manawatu, instead staying on Highway 4 and finding our way via Whanganui. Bypassing Palmerston North, we took the time to explore Levin more than usual, then managed (just) to find the alternative Paekakariki Road to bypass the oft-congested coastal motorway to Wellington, and thus traverse the ranges more directly to Lower Hutt.
