North Island.......... so far

North Island

Auckland – Rotorua – Taupo – Waitomo – National Park

Monday November 1st Auckland - Rotorua

This Magic bus adventure began in the city I have called home for the last 5 months, Auckland. I must admit, I am quite excited for this trip & the opportunity to finally see this great country.

As we left Auckland, early Monday morning we stopped at the top of Mt Eden ( a hill that I have climbed up several times during my time here in Auckland). We then traveled on to Thames and south to Paeroa, the small town that invented the fantastic drink, L&P or Lemon & Paeroa (only found in New Zealand). Through Matamata and on to the Hobbiton, the scenery & landscape used in all 3 Lord of the Rings movies. Some of our crew did the bus tour through Hobbiton (sorry to admit to everyone I have not watched the movies!) We enjoyed lunch at the Shire’s Rest with the lambs & ewes, then on to smelly Rotorua. This destination I have enjoyed to the max with Laurel back in July so I walked around the lake, took pictures of the Government Gardens & enjoyed the company of my fellow travelers. What I did enjoy immensely was the Tamaki Maori Village & Cultural experience which included a bus ride (pretending to be in our waka with our chief) out to the village of Tumuni. We, the tribes with our chiefs, were welcomed by the maori to their village where we discovered their way of life through wood carving, maori tattooing, & flax rolling. The concert with singing, dancing, drums & spinning poi was a highlight before enjoying the traditional hangi meal, cooked underground. Yummy! A fantastic first day 

Tuesday November 2nd Rotorua – Taupo

Leaving Rotovegas we swung by the mudpools and joined haha all the other people staying in Rotorua for the Lady Knox Geyser. Must admit it seemed slightly less impressive as they have to put soap in it to set it off every morning, but none the less pretty cool. Then on to the Wai –o-Tapu, geothermal park where the geography/geology side of me took in all the colours, sights, sounds & smells of the different areas. On to Taupo! I joined my friends, Leon & Jill from Scotland & Natasha & Michael from Germany on the HukaFalls Jet boat. Picture a motorboat mixed with a seadoo and this is what we zipped around the Waikato River, swerving by the riverbanks, narrowly missing the swans doing 360’s and up to the Huka Falls. The amount of water going over the falls was immense & enormously powerful, not somewhere to kayak, although we were told it had been done! We then watched several of our fellow magic bus crew bungy jump & do a skyswing, looked pretty fun but didn’t join in  Finished off the day with a walk around Lake Taupo with new friend Richard from the UK, enjoying the wonderful sunny day with the mountains of Tongariro & Ngaurohoe in the background.

Wednesday November 3rd Taupo – Waitomo – National Park

This was more of a travel day than anything else, for me at least, as I have already enjoyed Waitomo to the max with Laurel. My fellow magic bus travelers took in the drywalk cave tour of Ruakuri with glowworms & others enjoyed the black water rafting (really a must do if ever in Waitomo). My day included a nice walk with friends up through forest to the lookout over Waitomo, in of course a cow paddock! (Starting to think all good lookouts must be connected with a cow or sheep paddock). On to the National Park, which is really not so much a town but a grouping of hostels that cater to the skiing folk in winter & the tongariro crossing types, like myself, the rest of the year. Early to bed as it will be an early morning.

 

Thursday November 4th Tongariro Crossing

Well we woke up early, to cloudy skies that didn’t exactly beckon us to do the climb. In perhaps not the greatest spirits, my friend Brandon from South Africa & I suggested casting a spell to the maori gods for clearing skies. So off we went, Anya from Germany, Frederick from the Netherlands, Liz from the UK, Brandon & I on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing bus. 19.4km from start to finish. Mangatepopo, Soda Springs, up the Devil’s staircase, along the South Crater, up, up, up the Red Crater for the most awesome view of the Emerald Lakes, through the snow covered Central Crater, over to the Blue Lake for the most fantastic lunch spot ever! We continued through the North Crater and down the Ketetahi hot springs and through the forest. All I can say is the pictures speak for themselves on how amazing the views are. In great company, the weather cleared of course for a fantastic day & a great sense of accomplishment! Fun times which led to great sleep 

 

Friday November 5th National Park

Rest day at National Park with a rainy sleep in  Laundry, internet & catch up

Since my travels of NZ have started, only 4 days ago, I have felt like I have been in another world. Not only have I seen wonderful things, I have met wonderful fellow travelers. People with a similar outlook of positivity and excitement to just enjoy life, discovering new views & experiences. I am definitely feeding off of this pleasure & living life to the fullest type attitude. Some, like myself, are discovering & enjoying NZ for the next 4-6 weeks & returning to work in their various home lands or visiting family & friends. There are some others, though, that this is just a magnificent breath of NZ before continuing on with the rest of their around the world adventure! Part of me is extremely jealous for such an experience, part of me wonders if I could live out of the same travel bag for that long, part of me wonders if I could deal with always being on the move with 1 or 2 nights in any location. But none the less it great to be around these wonderful new friends, who look out for each other & enjoy each other’s presence.