The Bus

The night before I was getting on the Kiwi bus at 8:30am I thought it would be a bright idea and get "proper" drunk. My friend Victoria from Nova Scotia got a job so me and her went to the packey and found pre-mixed Captain and Cokes for 10 NZ$ (7.00 US$). So her and I and her other Nova Scotian friends drank ourselves silly then went to the bars which are conveniently located right below our hostel and around the corner from our hostel. It was fun. We ran into this Swiss guy named Flavio, which is a very fun name to say after you have been drinking some. Flavio is learning English and looks like an Elvis impersonator (young Elvis). The night was very fun and by the end of it me and the Nova Scotians made a pact to spend Christmas together bbq ing somewhere. It's nice to have plans, even if they do fall through.

I managed to say good bye to my German roommate Flo and get on the bus. Our first stop wasn't for a couple of hours so I was able to get some more sleep. On the bus were some people that I had been talking to at the hostel so it was nice to see some familiar faces. It seems like everyone on the bus is traveling alone so we are all pretty friendly.

The first place we stopped off at was Cathedral Cove. I have no idea why it is called Cathedral Cove but it was a fun walk. It took about 45 minutes to walk down to the Cove. Once there, it I looked out into the sea and saw these really small islands everywhere ( they were all smaller than one nyc block). It turns out that the islands were the tops of volcanoes. The rest of the volcanoe had eroded but the tops are more resilient since they are made up of the most recent lava. After Cathedral Cove we were going to go sea kayaking but the weather was too windy so we just went to where we were staying for the night, Whitianga.

Apparently Whitianga is where the first Polynesian landed on NZ. It is a really small town that is surrounded by mountains. Our hostel was a two minute walk to the beach. Unfortunately it was raining and freezing so I didn't stay on the beach very long. A bunch of us went out and had dinner and a few drinks and just hung out. Our driver hung out too. Also another person I met at the hostel who is doing Bunac met up with us. It was good to see him and just hang out with everyone.

We were back on the bus today at 7:30am. The weather was terrible again. I was really cranky at the beginning of today...I really just wanted to sleep. The first place we stopped were caves that had formed windows. We were all walking through the caves and then all of a sudden the windows stopped. It was pitch black. We all whipped out our cellphones and our cameras to see if that would help but it didn't. We decided to go on anyway since a bunch of little kids and there families were doing it. This one woman on the bus is deaf so she was a little worried about not being able to see and hear but we formed a chain for her, She was holding my hand is I walked in front of her and someone else had her hand behind her. We made it through fine and you could tell she was excited that she got to do it.

After lunch we had the option of Zorbing, which is when you are thrown in this giant inflatable ball with water and rolled down a river, or street luging. I chose street luging because it was cheaper and it was too cold to get wet. The street luge looks like a sled on wheels. It has handle bars that stick at the front. If you pull the bars towards you, the luge brakes. I put on my helmet and went down. It was a five minute downhill ride that was really fun. I took a turn too sharp though and jammed my foot into the side of the track but other than that it was harmless.

Tonight I am going to a traditional Maori dinner called a hangi. It should be fun. Tomorrow we leave Rotorua, which is where I am now, and go to Whitiamo. After Whitiamo is Taupo. Taupo is where I am going to hop off the bus and try to find a job. Taupo is also where I am going to sky dive!! I am getting really excited about it, and it's not just because I get a free t-shirt.

The blogging might get a little more infrequent until I get to Taupo. Some places are charging 9 $NZ/hour and I just refuse to pay that much. Keep the comments coming. I love reading them!