Rotorua, New Zealand

Day 5 Rotorua, New Zealand

Wake up, catch the bus to Rotorua, meet up with Coner (a writer) and Antje (an artist) and we ride to Rotorua.  I still don’t know where I’m staying yet, but Conner and Antje tell me they’re staying at the Funky Green Voyager.  We wander over, it looks cool, and so that will be home for the next couple of days.  It’s a small place, painted green obviously, and feels more like a home than the other hostels I’ve stayed at so far. We grab lunch at the mall across the street.  I get ‘New Zealand Fish and Chips’.  I’m not sure if it was delicious because I was so hungry or because it was really that good.  Doesn’t really matter I guess.  Antje draws a picture of me in her book as we eat and Conner tells me about Laos.  I’ve found that everyone is extremely knowledgeable about the world out here.  All of the places I plan on going, someone has been there before and offers plenty of advice (go here, don’t go there, India is shocking but worth it, etc)
I then go off and grab some things I need: a daypack, sunscreen, super glue, another shirt, a couple pair of socks (because I left 2 pair in Waitomo…fuck.  And this normally wouldn’t be a big deal but when you only have 5 pair total, you’ve lost almost half your socks!)

I then head out to do the Lonely Planet’s Walking Tour of Rotorua.  I borrow a copy of the book and head off.  The town is situated on a lake and the Maori culture is big in this town.  Over 25 percent of the population is Maori (the original settlers of the island…kind of like the Indian tribes in American).  The first thing you notice about the town is that is smells like sulpher, everywhere.  The town is famous for its hot springs (think Yellowstone National Park) and there are lots of smoking pools and vents everywhere.
I walk by a young man who says something in Maori to me.  I respond with ‘How are ya doin’.  He says ‘I didn’t say how are you doing, I asked if you had a smoke’.  I say I don’t and move on.

I start to lose daylight as I walk through the park where there are lots of smoking pools.  There’s not really anyone out anymore, so I pick up the pace a little.  I hear a woman (local and Maori) call from behind me.  She tells me she’s looking for her sister in the park.  I tell her that I haven’t seen her, and we start walking and talking.  I start to get a bit nervous as she yells her sister’s name.  Is she calling for someone to rob me?  I have 500 dollars worth of electronics in my pocket and more cash than I want to lose.  She asks me if I’m the Queen of England’s son, and I tell her I’m from the States.  Finally we see a couple people approaching, her sister and brother.  She gives me a hug and tells me to enjoy New Zealand and walks off.  I smile for a minute realizing that no one is out to get me.  I wouldn’t walk by myself at night through many parks in the States.

On the way home I stop by the grocery store, grab some noodles, vegetables, and a big beer.  I make dinner in the hostel about 10pm and talk to the others in the kitchen.  One woman from Sweden has bought a car and is traveling around for 3 months, everyone else is from Germany.  We talk about the thermal pools which people can swim in (I’m doing this tomorrow), bungee jumping, and the best places to enjoy New Zealand wine.   I decide that I really like the Germans, and then go to sleep.

Lake "I forget the name" in Rotorua

Day 6 Rotorua, New Zealand

I start the day off with an apple. I wander outside to the smoking gazebo (mostly because it provides shade, but I later realize that it is a prime location to meet people) in the courtyard and start scheming about what to do on my last day in Rotorua.  I decide not to do any Maori cultural things; something about paying 80NZD to watch people sing, dance, and parade around on a stage doesn't really appeal to me.  I decide I would have done it if it was free.  In the end, I decide to take it easy and hang around the hostel for the day.

I meet a Swiss guy who comes out to have a smoke.  He tells me he has rented a car for 3000NZD for 3 months.  He also tells me about a road-trip he took 10 years ago around the USA, down through Central America, and down to Bolivia in South America...with no internet or GPS!  We joke about it being like traveling on the Oregon Trail but come to the conclusion that if you've never had it you don't miss it.  We discuss what kind of gadgets we will have in another 10 years.  Technology evolves so fast these days.

I meet a guy from England and have the standard conversation; whats your name, where are you from, where are you going, where have you been, not much more before he puts out his cigarette and heads back inside.  I continue researching where to go after New Zealand.  A girls tells me about Fiji last night and I contemplate whether to go there or go to Australia.  I don't make a decision.  I decide to walk down to the lake en-route to the spa.  It's about 7pm.

    

I see a couple sitting next to the water with a baby duck.  There's a cage next to them, not sure what exactly what the story was with this.  I see a bunch of black swans in the water, and am surprised how big they are.

I then discover a street festival, there's a band playing (two guys with guitars actually), and I listen for awhile. I check out all the booths. People are selling all sorts of things from jewelry to waffles.  I pass by a stand where they have a machine that mixes vanilla ice cream and whatever kind of berries you want together into a cone.  I decide I can't live without the blackberry/vanilla mix, so I get it and head toward the spa.  I run into the Canadian guy from Waitomo, tell him about the spa (only costs 20NZD), and tell him to meet me there if he wants.  I never see him.    

I arrive to the spa at about 8:30, and the woman at the front desk asks me if I have ever been before.  I tell her no, and she then proceeds to explain that the green pool has saltier water and it good for your muscles, the other ones are good for something else.  I don't listen too closely...seems a little astrology-esque.  

There are 7 pools, each has a different temperature right on the lake.  I walk out and immediately see a bunch of Chinese people...like over 100.  I'm officially a minority, but it  doesn't really bother me.  At one point while moving from pool to pool I pass by a European looking guy, we nod and look at one another like we have just done some kind of secret mental handshake.  You see, the Chinese like to come and go in huge tour buses in New Zealand, and I've never met a single person from China yet.  It like they are some kind of collective consciousnesses; like the Borg (for the Star trek nerds) or something.  They travel in packs.

At about 9:30 the buses must be leaving because the place empties out.  I take over the best spot in the pool closest to the lake and do one of those poses where you put your arms over the edge of the pool and rest your head on them, looking out into the lake.  Pretty relaxing.  A Czech guy and a Dutch girl from the hostel wander over and we talk for a while.  I show them Jupiter and the girl tells me she thought they were all just stars up there ;)  Cringe.  We also talk about how hard it is to photograph things in New Zealand.  Everything is so much more amazing when you are there in 3D.  When you snap a picture and put a border around it, you lose 3/4 of it.  She tells me, "but if you can take a great picture, you can then go back and remember how much better it is in-person".  I agree.

  

I stay until the place closes at 11pm, and float back to hostel.  I end the day with apple.

Maori guy