I am having a superb time. I was umming and arring about travelling with Kiwi but it has turned out to be a great choice. The driver, Poncey, is on his last tour so is making sure he gets the most out of it. We left Auckland first thing Wednesday morning. We made our way to Whitanga stopping at Thames for lunch and Hot Water beach and Cathedral Cove in the afternoon. The good thing about travelling by Kiwi is that you stop off at the places of interest between A and B, so while it is a whistle stop tour of the country you do get to see alot of the country while you fly by. The scenery as you drive along is pretty spectacular, it looks a bit like Britain but kind of has a Jurassic feel to it. Cathedral Cove was really beautiful, it felt like you were on a remote desert island. The hostel in Whitanga, Buffalo Peaks, was very good. It was a converted bungalow run by a husband and wife. The kitchen was excellent and it was very clean. In the evening we went to the pub.
The next day we went to Rotorua stopping at Karangahaka a stunning bush-clad gorge with tunnels and suspension bridges. We stopped in Matamata for lunch, nearby scenes from the Lord of the Rings were filmed. Once we arrived at Rotorua we went luge riding which was great fun. They have concrete tracks winding their way down the mountain side and you ride them on plastic go karts. The tracks are about 3 karts wide so you can race against each other. Once you get to the bottom you ride the chair lift up and go again. It was great fun and very cheap (only $20). I then had a quick look around Rotorua going down to the lake and looking at some steam pools. It is really weird to walk around Rotorua and see steam rising from the ground. In the evening most of us went to a Maori Concert and Hangi. You are taken to a foritfied Maori village in the forest, it is kind of like Kentwell hall but more authentic. It is very touristy but an interesting way to find out how the Maori lived. The food is an all you can eat buffet using the Hangi technique. We were then bused back to the town centre with an eccentric Maori driver. He got us to sing songs representing our nationality, the English choose to sing London's Burning. He then got us to sing "She'll be coming round the mountain" while driving round and round a roundabout. We got back to the hostel and spent the evening in the Lava Bar. The band performing there were Boy Band who have been put together by a radio station as a parody of a real boy band. They are releasing a single. They were awful. We then had a bet on to see who could get the number of the"Gay" member of the group, I failed, one of the girls managed it. The hostel we stayed in was Hot Rocks. It felt a touch tired and in need of a refit. It was clean and it had free mineral pools and hot tub. I don't think I have ever been in so many hot tubs as I have since arriving in New Zealand.
On Friday we drove to Waitomo stopping at Te Puia Geothermal Reserve. It was freezing cold and we huddled on the hot rocks waiting for the geysers. It was a pretty impressive sight when they finally went. We also got to see a couple of Kiwi birds in captivity. They are much bigger than I expected, about the size of a football. We then headed on to Waitomo. The hostel we stayed at was fantastic, Kiwi YHA. It is only a year old and feels like a hotel. The facilities are excellent (though it could do with a hot tub). In the afternoon we did the Ruakuri Walkway. When we got back we played touch rugby which was great fun. After that we played volleyball, boys vs girls, and we won. Then we had a BBQ we bought the food and Poncey cooked it. I attended the BBQ completely overdressed. I was aware of this but decided it was a Friday night and it was pointless bringing clothes if you don't wear them (jacket and jeans with shirt, quality). We then went down to the only pub in town to watch the rugby. New Zealand bars do seem to be stocked with their fair proportion of randoms and lots of women who you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Themale randoms seem to have great difficulty in leaving women alone. I don't think it is any worse than the UK, the randoms just seem more pathetic. For instance one guy's opening line to the girls was buy me a drink.
On Saturday we had a bit of a lay in, pickup was at 9am. (NB - Kiwi love early pick up times). We went for a cave walk in the Ruakuri Caves. It was like walking into a James Bond set. There is a massive man-made chamber that spirals down and then you walk through an airlock tunnel into the caves. When walking through the caves you are on steel walkways. Obviously the big event of the day was the sky dive and everyone was talking about it. We stopped at the Huka Falls and took some photos then headed to the airfield. In the evening we all went out to some local bars. We played a few drinking games and went to a couple of clubs.
The next day we went to Rotorua stopping at Karangahaka a stunning bush-clad gorge with tunnels and suspension bridges. We stopped in Matamata for lunch, nearby scenes from the Lord of the Rings were filmed. Once we arrived at Rotorua we went luge riding which was great fun. They have concrete tracks winding their way down the mountain side and you ride them on plastic go karts. The tracks are about 3 karts wide so you can race against each other. Once you get to the bottom you ride the chair lift up and go again. It was great fun and very cheap (only $20). I then had a quick look around Rotorua going down to the lake and looking at some steam pools. It is really weird to walk around Rotorua and see steam rising from the ground. In the evening most of us went to a Maori Concert and Hangi. You are taken to a foritfied Maori village in the forest, it is kind of like Kentwell hall but more authentic. It is very touristy but an interesting way to find out how the Maori lived. The food is an all you can eat buffet using the Hangi technique. We were then bused back to the town centre with an eccentric Maori driver. He got us to sing songs representing our nationality, the English choose to sing London's Burning. He then got us to sing "She'll be coming round the mountain" while driving round and round a roundabout. We got back to the hostel and spent the evening in the Lava Bar. The band performing there were Boy Band who have been put together by a radio station as a parody of a real boy band. They are releasing a single. They were awful. We then had a bet on to see who could get the number of the"Gay" member of the group, I failed, one of the girls managed it. The hostel we stayed in was Hot Rocks. It felt a touch tired and in need of a refit. It was clean and it had free mineral pools and hot tub. I don't think I have ever been in so many hot tubs as I have since arriving in New Zealand.
On Friday we drove to Waitomo stopping at Te Puia Geothermal Reserve. It was freezing cold and we huddled on the hot rocks waiting for the geysers. It was a pretty impressive sight when they finally went. We also got to see a couple of Kiwi birds in captivity. They are much bigger than I expected, about the size of a football. We then headed on to Waitomo. The hostel we stayed at was fantastic, Kiwi YHA. It is only a year old and feels like a hotel. The facilities are excellent (though it could do with a hot tub). In the afternoon we did the Ruakuri Walkway. When we got back we played touch rugby which was great fun. After that we played volleyball, boys vs girls, and we won. Then we had a BBQ we bought the food and Poncey cooked it. I attended the BBQ completely overdressed. I was aware of this but decided it was a Friday night and it was pointless bringing clothes if you don't wear them (jacket and jeans with shirt, quality). We then went down to the only pub in town to watch the rugby. New Zealand bars do seem to be stocked with their fair proportion of randoms and lots of women who you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. Themale randoms seem to have great difficulty in leaving women alone. I don't think it is any worse than the UK, the randoms just seem more pathetic. For instance one guy's opening line to the girls was buy me a drink.
On Saturday we had a bit of a lay in, pickup was at 9am. (NB - Kiwi love early pick up times). We went for a cave walk in the Ruakuri Caves. It was like walking into a James Bond set. There is a massive man-made chamber that spirals down and then you walk through an airlock tunnel into the caves. When walking through the caves you are on steel walkways. Obviously the big event of the day was the sky dive and everyone was talking about it. We stopped at the Huka Falls and took some photos then headed to the airfield. In the evening we all went out to some local bars. We played a few drinking games and went to a couple of clubs.
The trip has got better as we have got to know each other. A big help in this has been sharing experiences as we go. It gives you a point of reference and gets you beyond simply talking about where they have been before New Zealand (even though that is interesting). In that respect it is a shame I will be leaving this bus to go on a different to the East Coast of the north island. However, I am looking forward to meeting new people and seeing more great things.
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