Day 14 - Wellington to Nelson - Turbulence

It was an early start the next morning, as I had a plane to catch. My day started off not too bad, apart from the minor inconvenience of a broken lift. I made it downstairs and decided to complain to the receptionist about the broken bed. The receptionist seemed annoyingly un-apologetic. In fact, I think his exact words were "Oh, yeah, that one." I decided not to push the issue, as it would be as successful a dentistry for a rooster. I took a bus out to the airport for the first stage of the day's travel, a flight in a small plane across the Marlborough sounds. And when I say small, I mean small. There were only 9 seats, and one of those was next to the pilot. There was also turbulence on the 20 min flight. This was the type of turbulence that wouldn't even bother a normal sized plane, but in something so small it made things quite interesting. I wasn't overly concerned though, as I was too busy taking photos of the astonishing scenery unfolding below me. We arrived at the airport shaken, but not stirred (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist), and on our final approach we had to abort landing and go-around for another shot. Why, I hear you ask?. Engine trouble, ATC problem, another aircraft on the runway? No, the guy in the tractor cutting the grass was a bit too close to the runway. That wouldn't happen at Heathrow, would it? We pulled up at the terminal (a house), and the minibus arrived to take me to the ferry terminal, so I could get the Magic bus. To give you an idea of just how small the plane was, the minibus was probably slightly bigger. I arrived at the ferry terminal and found that I had a slight wait for the Magic bus, so I got a comfy spot and read some of my book. The bus to Nelson was uneventful, and we didn't stop anywhere on what was a short trip. I got dropped off at the YHA, only to find that by some mistake (I don't know whose), they had me booked for a different date. They also had no vacancies. Thankfully, another backpacker's, Paradiso, did and so I caught a cab over there. They also had a swimming pool and a hot spa, and they were cheaper than YHA. Result. I took a swim and then decided that I couldn't be bothered cooking, and I went out to find some food. I eventually stumbled upon a bar with a fish and hip shop next door. I ordered my food and headed to the bar, to find that they did big bottles of take-away beer. I got myself a bottle of cider and took my fish and chips back to the hostel with me. Now that was a good feed. After my feed I settled down for the night, went on the internet, watched some TV and got lightly sozzled on the cider before I went to bed for the night.

Day 13 - Taupo to Wellington - Lasagna, a Broken Bed and a Whole Lot of Bull.

On day 13 I awoke feeling very stiff. So stiff that it was incredibly painful to carry my heavy bag downstairs to the bus, and the seats weren't overly comfortable. The long trip from Taupo to Wellington was not very eventful. As we left Taupo our driver, Rangi, who was incidentally my first Magic driver, decided not to stop for pics of the mountains. This was because the weather was awful. We instead decided to make up time and try to get to Wellington earlier. On the way to Wellington we passed through a small town named Bulls, and some of the shop names were un-bull-ievable. The Doctor's surgery was live-a-bull, the pub was soci-a-bull, the $2 shop was afford-a-bull, the op shop was trash and treasure -a-bull, the breakdown service was tow-a-bull, the estate agent was relocate-a-bull, Mc Donald's was Mc Value-a-bull, Subway was submerge-a-bull, the school was education-a-bull, the recycling bins were response-a-bull and last, but not least, the public toilet was relieve-a-bull. And that's just the short list. Upon our early arrival in Wellington, the first stop was the top of mount Victoria which gave 360 degree views of Wellington and the Hutt valley. After a short stop (it was freezing up there), we all scramble back aboard the bus to go to our hostels. I was staying at the Nomad's capital, and I was pleased to find out that there would be a free meal of lasagna provided. That was only a first impression, and lasted as long as it took me to get to my room. For some reason, although I was only staying one night, I was put in the long termer's room, and I had a top bunk, the last one left. It was also broken, and sloping precariously. I decided to deal with it later, and went down for a short walk about town. I returned after a stroll down Cuba street and decided to go and ask about the free meal. The receptionist was very reluctant to give out a free meal voucher, and I still haven't got my free drink voucher. I proceeded to the 'house' bar (actually next door) and I decided to pay a little extra for the larger portion. After a snack of  poorly cooked lasagna (I dread to think how small the regular portion was), I purchased some chips to actually fill me up. I got them, half an hour later. After eating these chips and willing myself not to complain, I took my leave and went for a walk along the harbor front. Because it would be an early start for me then next morning, I decided to urn in early, and I went upstairs. I tried to climb into bed, and the bed decided to lean even more violently. I decided that I wouldn't risk the bed collapsing (and crushing the poor bugger underneath), and so I took the mattress off and slept on the floor. The floor was surprisingly comfy.

Day 12 - The Tongariro Crossing

I had an early start on day 12, and so I suffered for the previous night's antics at the Poker table. After a quick brekkie I got my stuff together and headed out to wait on the bus. When it arrived I was disconcerted to find none of the others on it, but I just assumed that they were on another bus. Despite trying my best not to, I fell back asleep on the bus and I awoke when we stopped at a hire store, where people were given the opportunity to hire walking poles or boots. I decided to stick with my comfy trainers and then we headed out towards the track. I felt much better for the sleep and I got ready to set off as soon as we arrived. I assumed that the other guys were probably ahead and resigned myself to doing the trail alone. Lucky I had brought my I-pod. After 20 mins of walking I reached the Mangatepopo hut and stopped to use the toilet. i also grabbed a quick snack before heading on my way. I reached the path and ended up behind a familiar looking group. Believe it or not, I had found the other Guys, Ingmar, Anouk, Paddy and Emma. We headed on and found the path to Soda Springs to be quite easy. We stopped there for a short while before heading on to tackle the Devil's steps. I kid you not, they were EVIL. They seemed to go on forever, and each new flight of steps up the mountain made your thighs burn even more. By the end, I was about ready to turn and head back, if it wasn't for the fact that I'd have to go down the steps. I pushed myself, and found that we were in a large, flat crater. It was so amazing to find this strange plateau on the mountain, almost an acre of completely flat, desolate landscape. Apart from the steady stream of walkers, of course. We reached another climb, which was tough, and then stopped at the high point for a break. We decided to push on slightly further before stopping to have lunch. We stopped for lunch on a rocky area next to the red crater, and the views of the route ahead and the green and blue lakes was amazing. Paddy was slightly concerned, however, because we were on top of a volcano and there was steam. I explained to him that it was normal, but he didn't seem convinced, and so I told him that the ground was also hot. After that we decided to head off and we set off down a slope which seemed to me to be like a vertical cliff. Paddy helped to talk me down slowly, and we leaned into the slope and sort of jumped down, allowing the gravel to slow our descent. We reached the bottom in one piece (thankfully) and set off along the track toward the blue lake. Just before the blue lake there was a small climb, which seemed like no problem until I got a touch of extremely painful cramp in my knee. I stumbled the rest of the way to the lake, and then stopped and sat for awhile. I seemed ok after a rest, and I continued on towards the Kaitiahe hut. The path was quite cruel, because although the hut wasn't far away, the path kept zig-zagging and it took a good hour or two to reach. When I arrived I caught up with Paddy and Emma, and joined the very long line for the toilet. By the time I had finished, Ingmar and Anouk had arrived. I waited for them and we stopped for food. Emma and Paddy went on ahead and I set off later with Ingmar and Anouk. We walked down a still winding track and after we passed a sign showing that we were at the last of the 16.9 kilometers, we descended into what was almost rain forest. I went on ahead of the girls, and the last k seemed endless, walking through this dense forest. After what seemed like hours I finally arrived, exhausted, at the bus pick-up point. Ingmar and Anouk arrived about 10 mins later. The buses arrived after about half an hour and I got put onto the same bus as the guys, because the other bus had to wait for some stragglers. When I arrived back at the hostel the first thing I did was book the bus to the hot spa. It was gorgeous for my aching muscles, and the hour or so I spent there did me the world of good. I had no trouble sleeping that night.

Day 11 - Rotorua to Taupo - Wetas, a Waterfall and Rubber Ring.

The trip from Rotorua was one which I had been looking forward to because, I was going to the Waitomo Glowworm caves. After leaving Rotorua, our first stop was the Arapune Dam, which provided a lovely photo opportunity. Then, on the way to Waitomo, the activities list came round. I had just planned to visit the caves, but the driver, Greg, told us that afterwards we would have to wait for an hour and a half for the other, who would be doing other activities. That's when something else on the list caught my eye. Black water rafting. I had a debate with myself for a while before coming to the conclusion that i would probably never get another chance to do this, and I just went for it. We arrived into Waitomo and my debit card screamed as it had yet another $100 forcefully removed. We then headed to the hut to get our wetsuits and boots and (shock, horror). They actually had some that fit me. We got changed and put on our helmets before all struggling in our tight wetsuits to get into the minibuses. We all then held on for dear life as the minibuses thundered along the dirt tracks to the caves. On leaving the minibuses we had to walk across a farmers field to get to the cave mouth. If cows could talk I dread to think what they would have said about this strange looking force of aliens trudging across their field as if they had just messed in their pants. We posed for a group shot before being given our 'rafts', which turned out to be inner tubes from either a tractor or a lorry. We descended into the cave itself. We were given a safety briefing at the mouth of the cave, where we were warned about one thing. Cave Wetas (an insect resembling a large cricket). We were told that these lived in some parts of the cave and we would have to turn off our head torches at this point, or else they might swarm and be drawn to our torches, at which point they may land on the face of the person with the torch. I didn't need to be told twice. We were also told about the waterfall, which we would have to jump off backwards. I decided not to even try to think about that until we got there. We then headed off down the cave. We saw our fist glowworms before we reached the water, and we turned off our torches to see their magnificent glow. We tramped down util we reached water, and then we put on our inner tubes. As we wandered through the waters of the caves, we were told to grab the shoulder of the person in front with one hand and the wall with the other. We were then told to turn off our torches. We were in Weta territory. Further along the cave, and with our torches back on, we reached the waterfall. We were told to stand on the edge, hold the rubber ring onto our backsides and fall back. I got to the ledge an froze. The guide just pushed me off. I felt like a right tit when I reached the bottom with a splash only to discover that the waterfall was only 1 meter high! We were then organised into groups, and sat into our rings. The person in front had to grab the feet of the person behind and they had to grab the feet of the person behind them, and so on. I was th the back, and so I didn't have to grab anyone's feet. We then put our torches off again and started to float though the cave. it was amazing, an looking up is seemed as if we were viewing a night sky covered in galaxies of glowworm stars. I was glad that I had decided to tick the Black Water Rafting box. After a good twenty minutes of this floating we reached the last obstacle, the slide. That was fun. After trudging a few more meters down the caves we found the steps, and the exit. We took the minibus back to the hut and it was now even more fun (and dangerous) because our wetsuits were sliding all over the bench seating. We got showered and changed an headed back to the office to look at the pictures of ourselves and not buy them (well, they were too expensive) before getting back on the bus to Taupo. We stopped again on the way at Huka Falls, and I got some more pics. Finally we dropped off the skydivers before getting to our hostels. I walked up to pak 'n' save to get some shopping and then I got back to the hostel and made copious amounts of lunch and snacks for the next day. After that I had planned to go to the hot pools and soak before an early night, but that all changed when I saw the signs advertising a free poker tournament. I joined, and discovered that to be able to re-buy or to have a shot at the wildcard draw you had to buy drinks. Well, why not, I thought,a and I thoroughly enjoyed myself right before I got knocked out. I re-bought, and I got knocked out again. Low and behold, I then won the wildcard draw and ended up on the final table. I got knocked out again, finally, placing ninth, and I stayed to see who won before heading off to bed. So much for an early night.

Day 10 - Rotorua - Wasted Plans, A Pool and a Trip to the Cinema

I had planned to go for a walk on day 10. I was gonna explore some of the natural geothermal areas in Rotorua. The weather changed that, though. It was raining when I got up to go for a walk, and so I decided to go and find something else to do. First, I researched some more on the Tongariro Crossing at the I-site. Then I took a stroll through the town where I came upon an indoor shooting range. I took a few shots with an air rifle, and, upon hitting nothing, gave up. I then ambled about town until I came upon the cinema. Oh, well. Why not catch a movie? I watched Sherlock Holmes and I quite enjoyed it. I then headed back to the hostel and took a swim in the pool, as it had stopped raining. I the went back to the room, where I got chatting to one of the other guests, and we talked about our travels for quite a while. It's just a shame that I can't remember the guy's name. After that, It was yet another early night for me.

Day 9 - Auckland to Rotorua - Friends, Hobbits and a Walk in the Woods

On the day of the bus to Rotorua I waited outside the base hostel I was staying at, and waited for the bus. The bus didn't come at the proposed time, so I waited some more. After a little while longer, I got a bit worried, and I decided to wait a short while longer. Luckily, the bus did turn up. The driver, Murray, told me that I was supposed to be at the Magic office, and I told him that I was told to be at the hostel. He told me not to worry, since he had come to check and it was all good, so I got on the bus. When I got on to the bus, I started talking to Emma, a doctor from Guernsey who was living in Ireland, and had been on the bus the day before. She was travelling with her roommate, Paddy. I also got talking to Ingmar and Anouk, two Dutch girls who had also been on the bus from Paihia the previous day. Our first stop of the day was at the top of Mount Eden, where you can get 360 degree views of Auckland City. It was from here that Ingmar made a couple of calls and got accommodation for herself, Anouk, Paddy and Emma. We then headed down and out of the city towards the town of Thames, our first stop of the day. We Stopped for a break here, and The five of us visited to grocery store and decided to get some meat and veges and have a barbecue that evening at their hostel. We also discussed the possibility of doing the Tongariro crossing together. The next stop was Paeroa (again), and it was here that I met Pugsy Jr Jr, Emma's mascot who has pictures taken everywhere. She has more at home who are bigger, and these are called Pugsy and Pugsy Jr. I took the initiative and decided to bring out Edwin, a small teddy bear that my mum had given me, and so Edwin T Bear got the first of a few photos taken. The next stop of the day was Matamata, also known as Hobbiton. Here we got some more pictures of Edwin and Pugsy, and some of me in my kilt. We arrived into Rotorua shortly after 3pm and headed first to Tamaki heritage village for those who were going to the cultural show that evening to pick up their tickets. We then headed to Whakarewarewa Maori Village (pronounced Phuka rewa rewa). We dropped off all those that were visiting, which included Emma, Paddy, Ingmar and Anouk, and the rest of us headed off to the redwood forest. I decided to draw some inspiration from a certain nursery rhyme, and i took many photos of 'Edwin's Forest Adventure'. After that, we headed back to Whakarewarewa to pick up the rest of the guys before hostel drop-off. I got dropped off last, and I checked in and got my stuff together before I headed off to the barbecue at the other guys' hostel. We had sausages, steaks and salad and it was gorgeous, and really filling. After I had bid them goodnight, I headed down to an Internet cafe for a while, before going back to the hostel for an early night.

Day 8 - Paihia to Auckland - Dolphins, Detours and a Distinct Lack of Food.

The bus which turned up to take me back to Auckland was a surprise. It was a small minibus towing a trailer. The 1st stop of the trip was in the small town of Rawene which was completely dead. It was meant to be a breakfast stop. We didn't stay too long before we headed onto somewhere with food. The next stop was the joint towns of Opotiki and Opononi, where there was still no place to get food. We passed straight through and headed just out of town to a cafe just up the hill, where the views were brilliant. After breakfast, we headed back into Opononi. We stopped at the i-site where there was a small museum with a section dedicated to Opo the dolphin. A little while after we had left Opononi we visited ancient Waipoua forest, home of Tane Mahuta, a 51.2m high giant kauri tree believed to be between 1250 and 2500 years old. According to Maori mythology Tāne is the son of Ranginui the sky father and Papatuanuku the earth mother. Tāne was the child that tore his parent’s parental embrace and once done set about clothing his mother in the forest we have today. All living creatures of the forest are regarded as Tāne’s children. The pictures were pretty amazing. Next stop was the Kauri Museum at Matakohe. This was a very interesting museum, which told the story of the Kauri logging industry before the harvesting of wood from living Kauri was banned. it also had a really good gift shop with very reasonable prices. I got a Kauri egg identical to those in the Ancient Kauri Kingdom for only $5. It was 35000 years old and made from a piece of swamp Kauri. I also go a piece of ancient Kauri gum (hardened sap, not for chewing). We then got underway back to the Big Little City, and Bex, our deriver , told us that there were going to be huge tailbacks on SH1. Instead, we took a detour along SH16, which passed through Kaukapakapa, an area of outstanding scenery. We even took a little rest stop at a lookout with a couple of long drop toilets. We arrived back in Auckland only slightly behind schedule, and I got dropped at my hostel, where I checked in and got myself some food. After that, I went down to the Globe Bar to get a drink (I still had some free drink vouchers from the previous stay) and I watched the killer pool competition, which was played on two table side by side, with one person to a table. The first person to clear their table won, and the black got potted last. It was quite good. After I had run out of free drinks I headed back upstairs to bed.