Off off and away

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We headed out of New Plymouth after two weeks. We decided to head for Taupo-nice lake, thermal pools, waterfalls, and rapids! On our way we stopped at a brewery and had a few tastes of organic beer its not bad... we miss having beer made from wheat not hopps. After the brewery we see a sign for a waterfall off the highway-LETS GO! Its was 47km off the highway, but with all the twists, turns, and hills to climb on the gravel that soon turned into 4x4 track it took us wayy over an hour to get there. Once we got to the sign we ended up having to walk 20 min to get to the falls. By this time it is raining out so we get our nice new rain and wind proof jackets on and hit the trail. The walk was wet but beautiful! So nice to see such green grass!! And the small grassy hills are just like out of lord of the rings 😉 but they are filled with hundreds of sheep. The falls were great, we had more fun getting there in the mud and rain than we actually had at the falls-pretty sure that’s the hole point of it though! When we got back to the truck -we have named Bertha (aka B)- we are both soaked down to our bones. Well truthfully everything our jackets didn’t touch was wet, but our coats kept us dry! I changed out of my pants in the vehicle and into some dry ones with my new splash pants over them. We hit the road again and ended up at the three sisters(three rock formations in the ocean by the coast) we went to go see them but the tide was out so we couldn’t see them. We walked as far along the beach as we could and I ended up falling backwards into a big cold puddle! Lol when you try to take a picture and want to get more of something into the frame, when you walk backwards make sure you know what’s behind you! Lol! All good fun! After that I changed once again and we got serious about getting to a place were we could sleep for the night. We drove another hour or so in the dark and ended up at a rest stop outside of a town. We spent the night there. It was a cramped sleep that turned into a cold sleep within a few hours. We slept in our chairs and just folded them all the way down that we could. Tyler had the steering wheel in his way as well as the foot peddles. Now our vehicle is not the biggest, there is hardly any room in the back for a person to sleep on the bench seat. It was made for sitting not laying down. But the next morning after a few choice words Tyler figured next time we will try sleeping in the back. That morning the plan was to go to Whitomo caves but it ended up being a really overcast and cold day so we figured we would head on to Taupo and spend a few days there. Taupo was really busy with tourists but there was heaps to do around town. We wanted to bungee jump and do a jet boat up the falls and also do a great day walk that was close by to town. When we got to the info place we found out that the great walk was closed because of the weather (shitty), and we also decided bungee would not be very fun in the cold (I actually decided but ty agreed). So we got a cabin for 3 nights which was cheaper than a hostel and we could store our stuff in there when we went out for the day. We got groceries and made supper in the camp kitchen. The next day we booked a jet boat tour, it was fun but not as crazzy wild that I thought it would be. We did some walks around the waterfalls, as well as around the city dam. We went to a glass blowing place where we got to see a live demo, and see all the great pieces of work that were for sale (pricey!) We also went to the Honey Hive where they had honey bees, and tones of honey samples! We got to try honey wine, honey body products, honey ice cream, and lots of different types of honey! Yumm! We called it a night with wine, cheese and crackers back at our cabin. Yumm yumm yumm! The weather had not improved since we got there, it felt like a Canadian fall! We were glad we splurged for the cabin and didn’t stay in our tent b/c one day it was only 9 out! I was in my thermals and many many layers of clothing! In the cabin we had our heater on most of the time. The last day we had in Taupo we tried doing some walks, we were both bundled up b/c it was still so cold and rainy. We went to Craters of the Moon thermal area where we got to see bubbling mud and lots of steam holes. We also went to the city museum...lame! And the city botanical gardens....Lame!!! LOL oh well it was fun making fun of Tyler for deciding to go see them. Taupo was great all in all, we wish the weather would have been nicer for us, so we could have done the great walk. Butt we decided we will come back in the summer so we can still do it in nicer weather.
The next day we pack up our gear and decide to head to Napier. Packing up our stuff is staring to become a problem and we decided when we go back to Chantal’s in New Plymouth we will ask if we can leave our suitcase (the bane of our existence on this trip) with them. Why I thought we needed to take that stupid thing with us last at the last minute?? Its been in our way since we started! So we finally get everything packed in and we hit the road! On the way to Napier we see a sign that says 'scenic look out' cool! We go on the rd and it takes us to a beautiful view of a waterfall! Wowzerz! That was a nice surprise. When we got to Napier it was a lot nicer than it was in Taupo, I felt a little silly in my thermals and layers of cloths. The sun was out and people were in shorts and t-shirts. We went to the info place and turns out there isn’t much to do in this area. We decide that we probably need jobs with the amount of cash we are going through. We look at hostels and decide on one out of town near the wine regions, and on the pamphlet it says they help with finding jobs! We decide we will stay there for a week to look for work and its the cheapest place we have found yet on our travels, so we are pretty exited. We get a weeks worth of food and register in town for ird numbers (you need them to get jobs). When we get to the hostel we quickly realize why it is the cheapest we have come across!!! OMFG! WOW! From the outside you know its a little sketchy, there is so much junk in the yard you would think they are gutting the hole place and redoing it. A guy comes by us and tells us where to park. His name is Dylan and Tyler talked to him on the phone. He shows us around and we find out that they had a fire and yes they are redoing a part of the main floor where the fire was. Halfway through the tour I can’t help thinking when the last time they cleaned the place was, or even dusted. The smell in the kitchen was nasty, and the food that was in the only fridge that worked was crusty. When he took us to the second floor and showed us our room I realized we were the only people probably staying in this huge old building! Our room was dirty old and smelly. Lol bed looked like it was lazily made up by the last person staying in the room. Lol I didn’t even want to put my bags on the bed, to think i was going to sleep in it for a week made me nauseous. I didn’t want to say anything to Tyler because Dylan was really nice, even though the hostel was big old and scary. When Tyler asked Dylan if they took debit card he said he wasn’t sure but prob. Lol wtf does that mean? So we start taking all our stuff up into the room, I start stress eating once we get everything in. (Amanda stress eating= shoving any sort of food around me into my mouth, chewing and swallowing. Then repeating over and over without enjoying or thinking. I do it when I’m stressed all the time, Tyler can now pick up on it most times when I start) We did see a two people walking around the yard, not normal travelers they look like they live here, and they look sketchy too. Like the people you see hanging around downtown with no jobs and dirty cloths. I thought for sure we were going to get our stuff stole from our room when we left. Like this place was called a hostel for people like us to come and put our stuff here then have it randomly stolen. we were the only backpackers staying there that also werided me out. Tyler said we could leave if I really wanted to. All I could keep thinking about was an Oprah episode when they talk about your first instinct of things is always right and if you don’t listen to it that is when you usually get raped, mugged, or killed. Tyler said that yah he agreed that this place was sketchy and gross but he thought the ppl were nice and that I was overreacting. But if I wanted to leave we could. I thought about it and decided he was right, I was just freaked out because of how gross and old the place was, and how we were the only ppl staying here. So we unpacked the rest of our stuff, agreed that we really didn’t want to spend a whole week here, and also agreed that we really didn’t need jobs either. Great so we were only going to stay two nights now. We made supper in the smelly kitchen (I thought for sure we would get salmonella) but all was good. Went up to bed early and watched a movie on the lappy. The next day we tried a little to find jobs but we were over it. We went around town and saw what there was to see. We looked forever for a fish and chips place but had no luck. Played mini golf and had ice cream, went to the aquarium, and walked around town. When it was time to go back to the hostel I decided I would rather spend more time in town and less time there. So we went to a movie. When we got back Dylan said they were looking for us to have supper with them, they had Venison. He gave us a taste of it and we sat outside with him for the night. Tyler and him shot the shit while I played with the dogs. Turns out they are pig hunters and have something like 32 or so pig hunting dogs on the property. He told us about a nice 4x4 track that takes us to hot spring a few hrs away. Thinking maybe we might do that tomorrow. After a few hrs we called it a night and went up to bed.
The next day Dylan maped out the directions to get to the hot pools. We were going to do a hike along the cape but my tail bone was bruised when we went jet boating in Taupo so I could barley move at times. So this 4x4 drive wasn’t really going to be bumpy just had to go through a stream so my bum would be ok. It took us a good part of the day to get there. The roads were crazy steep and they twisted and turned up and down. We were surprised when we saw that two mini vans made as far as they did. Tyler got to do some fording (driving through a stream) that was a lot of fun for him, he even had me get out and take video of him doing it. It was a beautiful spot in the middle of a forest in the middle of no were! We took a walk around and found the hot pools (literally- man made pools of hot thermal water being poured in and drained out continuously. I imagined thermal pools as hot pools of water along a stream. Oh well still cool) We walked down to the water and that was a great sight. I could have spent all day just looking at the water flow past me. We picked out our campsite, went down to the hot pools. They were a little weird, floating dead skin and leaves. We couldnt decided if the dead skin was ours or if it was there before we got in. YUK! So we didnt spend much time in the pools. We set up camp after we got out of the pools. The campsite was great because we were the only ppl there AND we could have a fire! BONUS! Oh and it was free, double BONUS! We had a great time at that place! We would have stayed 5 or 6 nights but we wern’t sure if we were supposed to register with the DOC so we decided to hit the road the next day.
The drive back to civalization was fun because we knew where we were going. I took pictures of tyler going through the two streams he had to drive through, and video taped the steep hills and cliff sides we were so close to. When we got back to a main highway we started heading back twards New Plymouth to pick up the GPS Tylers parents sent. We stoped by the longest name of a place in the world! That was a lot of fun! The sign was the size of a school bus! Lol! We stoped at a town to have fish and chips (i had been craving them for a while) and realized we were only 15 min away from a Tui beer factory! YAH! We got there and booked a tour and tastings. We got three tastings of the specialty beer they only make and sell at that brewery, and got to take home 2 tui beer mugs for free! The tour was a lot of fun, we got to make our own billboards, and see how the beer was made. Tyler ate a piece of hopps...for a free beer. But he couldnt hold it down and had to go spit it out! LOL! After that we hit the road again, we were making good time but Tyler started to not feel very well. It could have been the hopps or the fish and chips, whatever it was was making him a very unhappy camper. We stoped in a small town and asked the motel there how much to stay a night $95! OMG! Wow that is way too expensive for our blood, even if tyler can hardly function enough to drive. Haha we drove for a while longer and pased a place that advertised $75 a night. Tyler said we should just take it becuase he was feeling worse. I went in and the lady said that she would give me the room for $65 because it was a bit wet on the floor from the previous ppl who stayed there. Yah! We eneded up staying two nights at that place in Whangari. The owners were great and it was nice to wake up and not have to pack up and leave the next day. We even got our laundry done at the hotel for only $10 washed and dried. Lol it did come out smelling like hotel towels but i didnt mind, Hotel towels smell better than feet and sweat!
The day we left Whangari we were only a few hrs from New Plymouth, and the weather started to turn shitty again. By the time we got there it was like we never left, the rain was pouring down. We got sushi and Starbucks and went out to watch the ocean for a bit before Chantal got home. We got to meet Gareth for the first time, and he is an awesome stellar guy! They were nice enough to let us stay as long as we wanted. We stayed the night, watched Boy (a great NZ movie about growing up in the 80’s! Frickin hilarious!!) had Thai for supper. The next day we got an external hard drive for the computer, why? I’m still not sure, impulse buy i guess. We looked for GPS cards in town but they all were over $200 so we gave up and hit the road again

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