Taking the least direct route south

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I have neglected the blog this past week- I apologize. So here's the summary:

Monday- we FINALLY left Auckland and took a bus east and then a bus north to arrive in the small town of Whitianga (Maori lesson: Wh="F" sound). From there we made our way to the even smaller town of Matarangi, where we stayed with a natural medicne student named Scott, who fed us a very generous, healthy dinner upon arrival.
Tuesday- we headed back into town to catch a ferry across the inlet and walked along the white cliffs for a few hours. We also made a stop at the Hot Water Beach, but to our dissappointment it was high tide. To make up for this, we visited the Lost Spring thermal spa- a bit of a splurge but so deserved after all the walking. We returned to Scott's house to cook him dinner and stayed one more night.
Wednesday- we took the bus onward to Tauranga where we stayed with some local berry pickers. Sam and Tyler were a hilarious pair, constantly cracking jokes about America (and expressing their love for Canada).
Thursday- rest day. I passed my cold on to Taylor so we did laundry, watched movies, and gave ourselves a break.
Friday- off to Rotorua! A quick 45 minute ride and we arrived at our next house. Steven and his roommates showed us a true kiwi house party as we watched the opening game of the Rugby World Cup: New Zealand vs. Tonga. Tay found a new love for sports and we learned some of the terms and rules of the game. We still need some work before we go to our own game in 2 weeks!
Saturday- we set out with one mission today- ZORB. We took the bus to the little hilly spot out of town and each took two turns being thrown around the giant water-filled hamster ball. AWESOME. Tonight we will watch some more rugby, rest up, and get ready to move on to the South Island!

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