Blogs from Taupo, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania

This past weekend was pretty epic! I went down to Taupo with 14 other students living in the same place that I am. They were all from the Arcadia group and I only knew two people going in. We left Friday and it took us about 4.5 hours to drive to our backpackers hostel. Once we arrived we went to a truck-stop for dinner since nothing else was open. They actually had really good food here! The next morning we woke up at five and loaded the bus which took us to Tongariro National Park. When we got there I realized I should have done more research on the hike because I didn't know what I was getting myself into! The trail was 19.4 km or about 12 miles for all you in the United States. ... read more

14.03.2012 Heute fuhren wir weiter gen Taupo. Ungefähr auf halber Strecke richteten wir uns Nachtquartier ein. 15.03.2012 Die nächste Woche verbrachten wir in Taupo und warteten auf schöneres Wetter. Taupo ist eine sehr schöne Stadt, welche direkt am größten See (Lake Taupo) Neuseelands liegt. Am Samstag gönnte sich Peter einen Skydive. Er wurde von einer weißen Limousine abgeholt und durfte dann von 12.000ft aus einem pinken Flugzeug springen. Am Samstag tranken wir ein paar Biere zu Ehren von St. Patrick. In den folgenden Tagen genossen wir Taupo und Umgebung, u.a. die Huka Falls und heiße Quellen.... read more

That double bed was just amazing – it was a real effort to drag myself out of it this morning as I wanted to stay there all day. Can’t wait to see my bed back home – I’ll probably not get out of it for the three days I have before I start work again. But leave it I had to, as 1) the car’s on the meter and will be clamped by 10am, and 2) I’ve got stuff to see in Napier, and a journey to undertake to Taupo. I wish I could extend out my time here in NZ as I’ve been having such a great few weeks and it feels terrible rushing around the North Island, trying to get things done in time. However it’s a challenge – and I love a challenge! ... read more

So I finally have a little more time to write. The motel we're staying in has free internet on desktop computers and free laundry...so I'm writing while I'm waiting for our clothes to dry:) The computers we've tried so far don't seem to like the program that travelblog uses to upload photos, but I've been able to (very slooowly) add photos to an album on Facebook. For those of you that don't have Facebook accounts, you should still be able to see the photos if you follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10101088586885037.3076664.8623642&type=1&l=f5e0e3b3c5 E-mail Briana if you can't see them for any reason and we'll try to figure something else out. I'll give a little more detail on some of our favorit... read more

The booze cruise in Raglan was cancelled so we ended up just chilling in the lounge, drinking, playing cards, and watching movies. We were basically staying in the middle of the woods (more or less) so we didn't need too much more to entertain us. Next day we left bright and early and headed to Waitomo, home of limestone caves and blackwater rafting (which I think is actually caving...still not sure). I decided to take the action packed tour with 20m abseils (aka repelling), waterfalls and small spaces. When I first had to climb in the tiny hole to enter the cave, then repel 20m I was seriously asking myself "what the hell have I gotten myself into?". After repelling down the first waterfall I was confident this was a fantastic idea. The guide was really ... read more

Don't know where Ohakune came from - we're in Wairakei! Got up this morning in Whangamata and it was still raining. Nevertheless,we made use of the hot tub on the (covered) balcony - I felt a bit "Essex"! Then we went to St. Joseph's in Waihi - still raining! Had breakfast and walked around the disused open-cast goldmine (in the rain - as you will see from the pics!). Saw some intersting birds. Then we headed for Taupo via Tauringa and Rotorua - didn't notice the sulphur smell! The Wairekai Resort where we are staying is pretty extensive with a 9 hole golf course,gym,squash court,pool, geothermal spa waters - so we had our 2nd "hot tub" experience of the day (or ever,for me!) A few things planned for tomorrow: Huka Falls,Craters of the Moon,Maori experience. To ... read more

Taupo (January 1st & 2nd 2012) It was a beautiful morning. Blue sky, white clouds. Bunch of us hiked to a hot spring. Half way there, it started pouring. We kept on going since the rain was not that cold. And it was worth it! The girls did not bring bathing suits so they took some photos and turned back. Joao, Alex, and I chilled out in the springs. The hot running water was the perfect complement to the cold rain. Alex didn't have swimming shorts but he went in in his beige skivvies. He managed to look gay in every photo. We cooked dinner at the hostel and took it easy the rest of the night. Worked up my nerves and went sky diving with Sara, Jana, and Katie the next morning. I expected to ... read more