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Goodday everyone, this is my 3rd blog from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and is about my activities and experiences during early March. Right now, end of May, winter is really closing in as the country experienced cold temperatures these nights with -5 C where I work and light snowfall. The South Island got quite a lot of snow but it's all expected to melt away soon as the weather will soon become warmer according to the forecasts.
After the Coromandel Peninsula I left with Kara, cousin of my friend Johnny, to Tauranga where she lives. I spent the night there to be able to board a bus to Rotorua the next morning. I booked a hostel right next to the Information Centre in the city centre; easy and convenient. I had a good time at this hostel with its very friendly guests and staff. Besides, the hostel offers free rice, free pasta and free wi-fi!!! One evening we formed a group and went to an Irish Pub where they had a quizz-night. It was fun but we didn't like the quiz because there were too many New Zealand-questions, many which foreigners would never be able to answer. One of my room-mates,
a French guy called Romain, had some ropes used for "slacklining" and we went almost every afternoon in a park, tied the ropes on the trees and tried to walk over the rope. Everyday I did a bit better and the others who came with us were improving too, but Romain was obviously much better at it.
Rotorua lies on the shores of Lake Rotorua on the North Island and has some 60.000 people, of which ca. 35%!M(MISSING)aori people. The city is surrounded by thermal pools and there is steam coming from the ground at several places. Therefore you'll often smell the sulphur odor when you walk around the city. The city centre is not very big and is not that special. It's the surroundings of the city what makes it interesting, therefore Rotorua is one of the most visited cities in New Zealand. The Rotorua Museum, located at the Government Gardens, is a very beautiful building but I didn't go inside because I found it over-priced. One afternoon I took a long walk around the city, strolling along the shores of the lake and through the Kuirau Park with its many thermal lakes which can be visited
completely for free.
Romain and I visited Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland which is a park with several volcanic lakes and formations. The walk around the park took us a bit more than 1 hour. It was fascinating to see what nature did in this park with its rocks and lakes consisting of different colours, giving a surreal impression. Another day I also visited Whakarewarewa Village. It's a Maori village which can be visited during daytime. Around the village there is a lot of volcanic steam coming off the ground and there is also a geyser which was in action all the time. The tour-guide was excellent and she explained a lot about the history of the village and the Maori culture in general. It was cool to see how they actually cook their meals. There are several small "holes" in the ground, they put the pots on something like a grill-roster and then close the hole and let the natural steam do its work. Another day we formed a group of seven people and went zorbing. Before this I had never heard about zorbing before or seen something like it. When zorbing you literally go into a big, plastic ball with
water and the ball rolls down a hill. It was much fun and would love to do it once again in the near future!
And then I boarded a bus and left towards Turangi, a small town about 2 hours south of Rotorua. Turangi itself has nothing particular and I just spent two nights there to do the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The wall of the hostel where I stayed was full of people painting the name of their countries and their own names underneath it. Of course I couldn't leave without leaving my mark on the wall. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a 19,4 km hiking trail along the mountains of the Tongariro National Park. The walk took me about 6,5 hours to complete. I took the first shuttle bus from the hostel, around 6am and I started walking around 7:15am and it was quite cold but as I went on, it became warmer. The weather was completely clear with little wind, perfect for the hike! The walk is very popular and you'd never be the only one doing it. You have to bring your own water, food and good hiking shoes. There are options to climb two
volcanoes: "Ngauruhoe" which is a very steep one, and "Tongariro". I didn't climb them because the crossing alone is long enough and I've been on volcanoes and seen craters before. The Emerald Lakes were very particular and beautiful to see from above. The Blue Lake was also stunning, giving me the opportunity to take some good pictures of the mountain reflecting on the tranquil waters. The last part of the walk also had some beautiful views and the descend went on for veeery long hahaha, here my legs started to become a bit tired. Before I did the crossing some people told me that the crossing is very beautiful and they were impressed. It was beautiful but it didn't impress me that much though.
Just before I left to Turangi for the crossing, I got an e-mail offering a job at a 4-star hotel and I had a Skype interview. The next day I received a call saying that I was accepted and that I could start the next week. So after Turangi I decided to go back to Rotorua to open a bank-account at ANZ-Bank and do some shopping. I needed black shoes, black pants, black belt and
black socks especially for the job. All those items I can claim back when filing out my tax-return form before I leave New Zealand, as long as I keep my receipts as proof of purchase. Then I boarded a bus towards Whakapapa Vilage in Tongariro National Park, where the hotel is located. In the next blog I'll be writing more about the job and how it went during the first three months.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!!
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RJT
Rachael
Tongariro crossing
I'm a New Zealander and have never done the Tongariro Crossing! Looking at your gorgeous photos I really need to do this - it looks gorgeous. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in NZ!