The North Island, Rotorua & Auckland

This is the last chapter of New Zealand.
A few things I’ve learned: If you’re coming here and plan on seeing the North Island, do it first and allow enough time for travel. The beauty of the South Island as a whole greatly surpasses that of the North. The North Island is amazing in its own way, it just takes a little more work to find these special places. We had allowed for basically three days to sight see Auckland; I had been told that Auckland is a shithole so had made plans to take an overnight trip to a town four hours away by bus, Rotorua, an area known for its hydrothermal activity.
The final preparations I made in Queenstown were booking our first nights accommodations at the BASE ACB in Auckland, purchase our round trip bus tickets to Rotorua and our nights stay at the Hot Rocks BASE Hostel in Rotorua.The next morning was March 19th; departure is at 12:30 from Queenstown’s four gate airport. We had a few hours to kill so on Dera’s recommendation I hit a reasonably priced heirloom shop to pick up a few more gifts for the family. I then headed back to our lodge, made sure I had everything packed appropriately and we caught a cab to the airport. After a few hours wait and a two hour flight we landed in Auckland, caught the “Air Bus” into downtown and found our hostel. Dera had plans to meet an old family friend, so off he went. I then started looking for a friend I had known in San Diego, Justin Sadgrove, whose contact information I had obtained when he emailed my NBC account a few weeks prior to my getting laid off. That contact info got lost with the email account, but I texted Pat in Ocean Beach who spoke with Troy, who then called Johnny in Santa Rosa who emailed Justin & me that I’m looking for his kiwi ass. After wandering the downtown area for an hour or so I got back to a computer and Justin had emailed me back! He knew right where I was, came into town and joined me at my Hostel’s Bar… we had a few.
Once primed we headed out to a club he knew named the “White House,” a fine establishment that we tipped a few more back at. The evening gets a bit blurry here; on our way back towards my part of town we stopped into a music festival, that didn’t last very long; after that we hit an Irish Pub, where shots proved to be the end of me. I had to get up for an 8am bus so I said my goodbyes to Justin, got a late night gyro and passed out.The next morning we made it to our bus, and four hours later after a spectacular drive through the countryside, we found ourselves in Rotorua, a town that seems to travel as much in the air & water, as over the land. Once checked in to our hostel we wandered Kuirau Park, just across the street and full of bubbling mud and steaming springs.

It was quite a sight, seems that this type of activity is pretty normal around here and after some time strolling through the park I found some nice pools just the right temp for taking a dip.

On we went, just a day in Rotorua meant that we only had so much time to see the town… our next stop was Lake Rotorua which was nice enough, filled with ducks & geese, but it seemed the light would be better for pictures if we waited till closer to sunset. It was time for lunch, we feasted on some of that famous New Zealand Salmon we’d kept hearing about, it was worth the wait. After that we headed back to our hostel for some relaxation, the Hot Rocks BASE actually has its own natural indoor hot spring pools and a nice outdoor pool, I indulged.
Once the light was right we headed back to town for a few more souvenirs, and then the lake for some shots in the dwindling light.

From there we went back to that park and took some more pictures of a huge pool we hadn’t seen the first time, dusk was the perfect time for viewing, but again hot steam doesn’t like expensive cameras so we didn’t get too creative. After this, since it seemed like our last night to “feast” on this wonderful New Zealand Beef, we did, and my rib-eye was great. Once back at the hostel I chatted with a few Canadians I’d met until tired from the long day, and passed out like a baby.

Dera had decided to catch the early light and with it an earlier bus home, I was determined to see a geyser, and with it an entire thermal park. I caught a bus; first stop was the largest thermal mud pool in the Southern Hemisphere, the Wai-O-Tapu Mud Pool.” After this was the “Lady Knox Geyser” which goes off at 10:15am everyday with a little nudge from the locals. Basically “she” would naturally go off every 48 to 72 hours, a large window of time which wouldn’t prove nearly as lucrative as when the locals “prime” the explosion with 300 mg of soap every morning creating the consistency that brings the buses and their inhabitants.

From here I spent the next few hours touring this thermal wonderland which I imagine is quite close to Yellowstone, but I’ve never been.

The

multiple colors created from the different mineral elements being brought to the surface were amazing;

Sulphur, iron oxide, manganese, ferrous salts & silica all create visions with names such as the “Artist’s Palette,” the “Champagne Pool” & the “Devils Bathtub.”

A quick trip back to town and I was chillin' at the nicest bus stop ever, it had it's own hot spring for dipping tired feet while awaiting the next "coach" as they refer to them.

Four more hours back and I was in Auckland, got an email from Justin and he directed me to the harbor for a ferry ride across the bay towards his area of town where I caught an amazing sunset.

After a bus and a short taxi I was at his house in Mirangi Bay enjoying some more prime New Zealand shiraz & steak grilled on the "barby."

I had not realized the difference home cooking can make, and as a bonus I met Priscilla, my friend's

"Mum." That night turned into beers at a few local establishments in "Browns Bay," once we closed them down we started a long walk home hoping to flag a cab. Justin, who had recently heard a story on the news where a kid was getting charged with assault for "chucking" a hedgehog at the plaintiff, had found his own hedgehog, and in the process of attempting to pick it up for a throw the damn thing popped a spine at him so he gave up and joined me in the cab. I passed out at his place and woke up quite foggy the next morning wondering how far and how long it was to my hostel, and my stuff.

We made it onto a bus and a half hour later made it into the BASE for checkout. Dera had some sightseeing to finish, and he was pretty jazzed to get to the airport early, so we decided to meet at the gate while I spent the afternoon with Justin seeing some more Auckland sights. We wandered over the old Grafton Bridge which had a nice view, caught a Cricket game in the "Domain," kind of a Central Park, and finally having a nice brunch in an area called Parnell. My last hours in Auckland included picking Avery up a nice wooden toy, mailing postcards, having a beer and burning all of my pictures to DVD as a backup. I said my goodbyes to Justin and made my way onto the "Air Bus" for a quick ride to the International terminal. There was a line but I scored a great seat with some nice Texans to chat with, and after a sweet eight hour nap I was at LAX going through customs to the waiting arms of my girlfriend. (She was great enough to drive up and get us, we talked so much during the drive I barely remember the ride home!)

Here I am, home for five days now, I've done nothing but chill and catch up on correspondence. I'm prepping for climbing Mount Rainier in early May while handling Visa requirements for India & Nepal mid May through mid June. Lot's of work for an unemployed guy, plenty of i's to dot and t's to cross, let's hope I get them all.

Till next time friends, Cheers!