Advertisement
Photo 1
Big cows on a walk I did in Waitomo The trip down to Rotarua on the Magic Bus wasn't great - I think I have come to the realisation that I have booked the wrong bus for what I want! I just wanted something like the Greyhound Bus in Australia that would take me from A - B with no fuss but the Magic Bus is more like a guided tour and what should have been about a four hour journey from Auckland to Rotorua ended up taking ten hours. It's actually a bit of a rip off, they stop everywhere for you to do expensive activities and if you don't want to do them then you just have to sit on the bus and wait. The alternative is to spend money on activities that you don't really want to do. It's totally the wrong bus for me, I want to turn up and book my own activites not be ferried around them and wait for everyone else. They also book your rooms and everything for you and I'm quite capable of doing it myself. I've just paid a lot of money to be herded around to places that I don't really want to go. I could just sack it
Photo 2
View over the bay off and get the normal city bus but now I've paid for it I'm far too northern not to use it so I will have to just ride it out and learn from the experience.
The hostel I chose in Rotorua was called Crash Palace and it was a good choice. It's really nice, clean and warm and it's in a good location in the middle of everything and right next to Pack and Save - the cheapest supermarket ever, so it was bargains ahoy! When I got to my dorm Rachel and Jess the girls I went on the wine tour in Kaikoura were in there so it was nice to catch up with them. Rachel is going to work in Queenstown and get an apartment so she said when I get there to get in touch and go and stay with her.
The first thing you notice when you get to Rotorua is the smell. It's the most geothermally active part of New Zealand & it smells of sulpher - basically the whole town stinks of eggy farts! Yuk! You do get used to it though after a day or so.
I had a brilliant first day. I
Photo 3
Thermal ground went for a walk in the morning around Sulpher Bay. You can't believe what your seeing with your own eyes when you walk around. It's just like a normal beach bay except the sand is rocks with big pools of bubbling mud and steaming vents and the water is like milk with all the sulpher in. You can actually hear the water bubbling and boiling under the surface of the rock. I had a nice picnic by the lake and then I went to the jade factory shop and bought myself a jade necklace I had wanted for ages. There is a lot of jade over here and it is sacred stone for the maori and they make carvings and handtools out of it. People wear different jade symbols on necklaces & I really wanted one to remind me of my travelling and my time in New Zealand. I got the fish hook symbol and that stands for strength, determination and brings you peace, good health and safe travel over water. It was a nice present to me - from me! Later on in the day I went across to the Polynesian Spa and had a gorgeous massage. It was
Photo 4
Sulpher Bay really good, in fact it was a bit too good and I drooled a bit through the face hole on the massage bed onto the laminate flooring! I was really embarassed but the lady never said anything and neither did I - maybe everyone does that?! Or maybe that's wishful thinking, probably just me then! ha After that I spent about two hours in the thermal pools. I got talking to a bloke that had done loads of the big walks in New Zelaland and he was telling me some good tracks and what equipment I would need so that was handy. I want to do a walk in Abel Tasman National Park when I get to Nelson. It's a four day walk and you stay in huts overnight on the way round. I might do another after that if I like it. I'm also doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing tomorrow (if the weather stays good) It is supposed to be the best one day walk in New Zealand and is one of the top walks in the world so I am looking forward to that. It is winter here so we will be trekking through snow at the top
Photo 5
The waterfront where I had my picnic of the mountains so we have to use crampons and possibly an ice axe - I've never used either of them before but I am going on a guided tour so they will show me how to use them. I've made friends with another girl who lives near Newcastle in my hostel called Ann-Marie and we are going together. We get picked up at half six tomorrow morning so it's an early start. I've seen other people's photographs of it and it looks amazing so I will make sure I get lots and lots of photos. My Mum said that there wern't enough photographs on my Wellington blog but I only put a few up on here I do have lots more to bore anyone that's interested with when I get back - so dont' worry Mum - I think you'll be wishing there were less of them when I get back!
The next day at Rotorua I went walking in Redwood forest. I did the three and a half hour track and it's a 45 minuite walk each way to and from the hostel. It was a nice walk but I was shaping a bit badly for some reason.
Photo 6
Maori carving on a canoe Firstly I tripped up and fell flat on my back and then next time I bent over to take a photograph there was a huge ripping noise and the arse of my walking pants was no more! I can only presume that I damaged them in the fall, it can't possibly be that my big bum broke them?! I hope not anyway! ha ha I have included a nice photo for you all to enjoy, looking back the worst part of this story is the time I spent on my own in the middle of the forest trying to get photo of my own arse - honestly try it - it's not easy!! Hopefully no other walkers were in the vicinity I would hate to think that anyone saw me attempting that one.
Whist I was in Rotorua I also joined the WWOOFING scheme - Willing Workers On Organic Farms. It's a scheme where you go and do a few hours of work on a farm per day and you get free accomodation and food there and live with the family. I'm really hoping to get on a dairy farm and I am looking for somewhere that has horses then
Photo 7
Bubbling mud at sulpher bay I can get a bit of riding in whilst I am at it aswell. I think it will be a really good experience and it will also save me some money too so I will keep everyone updated on that.
Rotorua was nice and I enjoyed my time there, it did end a bit badly though when an Indian guy that was staying in my hostel started acting really wierd and following me around all the time. He actually started really freaking me out by the end and I had to make a seriously quick backdoor exit onto bus and out of there! Rotorua is a really interesting place with a really strong maori culture and it is one of my favourite places in New Zealand so far.
After the Tongariro Alpine Crossing tomorrow I am going to get the bus to Wellington Wednesday morning with Ann Marie and then get back across to the South Island to a place called Nelson - I am sort of hoping it's nothing like the UK Nelson or there will be smoke coming off the tyres of the next avaliable Magic Bus with me sat on it! From there I am going to
Photo 8
Whoops a daisy - I had to tie my coat round my bum for the rest of the walk and I was freezing on the way home! hire a car and go back and see Catherine and Adam in Christchurch for a few days as she has got some time off work then it will be back to Nelson to do my 4 day walk and hopefully sort out a farm stay around there.
Love to everyone!
Rach xxx
Advertisement
Tot: 0.147s; Tpl: 0.018s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.0883s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Mum
non-member comment
your bum looks smaller!
Hi darling, enjoyed this blog - it look's an amazing place. Two good things here are your bum looks smaller than it did when you were last here and you are, at long last, cooking for yourself. Believe me when you get older you are gonna wish you had taken MORE photo's! You will have to stick to the Magic bus now, but a lot of these trips you can organise yourself-now! Take care.