NZ/AUS EPIC HOLIDAY - Days 9-11

Day 9 - 6th Feb - Mercury Bay to Rotorua

We boarded the bus early in the morning and headed south towards the town of Rotorua but as usual we stopped several times along the way including a brief respite from driving in a scenic area with some abandoned mine shafts. These proved fun to explore but it wasn't too long before we were on our merry way, hoping to get to Rotorua at a timely pace as we had much to do once we got there.

After settling into the hostel we made our way up the nearby cable-car to ride on the luge tracks at the top (quick lesson for the uninitiated, a luge is basically a wheeled sled that runs down a concrete track). If that sounds familiar it's because the exact same thing is possible in Queenstown on the south island. It's the same company that installed and now runs the cable-car system and even the luges are exactly the same. What differs from the Queenstown setup is that the scenery is less awe inspiring but the luge ride more than makes up for it. These tracks are FAR more intense than their south island counterparts. I don't know how fast I was going at one point on the advanced track but I managed to get airborne, albeit only for a second. I wouldn't have been at all surprised if I had learned that people regularly suffer horrible deaths on the advanced track, certainly screwing up you high speed turns could easily end with a bone-crunching (or worse) accident.

I would have ridden the luge all day if I could but we had another pressing engagement. I had signed up for a Maori cultural evening that promised an entertaining and authentic re-enactment of life in a Maori village, including a massive banquet which was, much to my delight, an all you can eat affair.

We arrived at around seven in the evening to be received at the gates of the village by Maori warriors and their chief. After the initial ceremony we were led into the heart of their village where we were introduced to various aspects of their ways of life, including music, song, dance as well as weapons and warfare. Many people might know the 'Haka', a war dance made famous by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team but that's just one example. There are many singing and dancing ceremonies performed by Maori and they're designed to convey many emotions and intentions. We got to witness many of these before we were taken into the dining hall for the feast!

The food was an assortment of roasted meats and vegetables which would be no stranger to someone who enjoys a good roast meal but what made this particular culinary experience unique was that it was all prepared using a traditional Maori earth oven. These underground cooking chambers are cut out of the ground and covered with rocks to keep the heat in. This alternative method of preparation really changed the flavour of the food, bringing out the taste in the meats in a way I haven't encountered before.

The fact that this was an all you can eat scenario was not exactly favourable for my diet but was nevertheless appreciated by me. After downing the equivalent of several Christmas dinners I retired to my hostel feeling like I had just ingested a couch.

I promised myself I would try to curb my excessive spending starting tomorrow!

the Maori meeting us at their gates

Day 10 - 7th Feb - Rotorua to Taupo

The thought occurs that I'm barrelling down through New Zealand at quite an expeditious rate without taking much time in any one place to really explore. After all the flexible nature of my bus pass and the abundance of good hostels does allow me to change my travel dates on a whim. My main reason for my somewhat hasty descent down south through the country is due to my eagerness to get to the good hiking spots. After all I've already spent ample quantities of cash on dolphin watching, canyoning, luges, Maori feasts and the list of activities doesn't show any sign of abating anytime soon. Therefore, the sooner I get hiking the better! Since most of the hiking is located on the expansive alpine scenery of the south island I'm anticipating spending more time down there. Before that however there is still one place on the north island that is famous for it's walking trails and that attracts thousands of amblers per year: Tongariro national park. But I'm still getting ahead of myself, we're not quite there yet.

I got the bus to Taupo today with the intention of staying a couple of nights.
Other than traveling down to from Rotorua to Taupo, which only took about an hour, I didn't really do much today. In keeping with my aforementioned money saving intentions I just lounged around the hostel on the balconies, reading my Lonely Planet guide to hiking in New Zealand.

Taupo turned out to be a very scenic lakeside town with a nice range of places to stay. I picked my hostel and moved my stuff in before heading out to explore the place a bit. In the distance I could see the mountains that make up the area of Tongariro national park, the place where I would hope to get some hiking done quite soon.

Time now I think for a pint or two!


Day 11 - 8th Feb - Taupo

I had hoped to head down to Tongariro national park and start the northern circuit which takes hikers on a four day trip around the park and over some of the highest peaks on the north island. However the weather forecast predicted some dismal weather in the area starting the day after tomorrow and since I didn't fancy spending half of my hiking time in rain and gale force winds I reluctantly had to opt for the Tongariro alpine crossing. The alpine crossing is apparently one of the most spectacular one day treks in New Zealand and it attracts hordes of walkers much of the year round. I guess I would have to go for that one instead.

I was still a little disappointed though. The alpine crossing is part of the four day northern circuit and it's this section that apparently contains the most spectacular scenery. So although I'm not missing anything by taking the shorter hike, I have to admit I was looking forward to getting away from the crowds. Apparently the northern circuit is relatively quiet and if you time it right you can even get to the crossing before the throngs of one day trampers pour over the landscape.

So tomorrow I'm taking the one day crossing and hopefully the amazing scenery will make up for the lack of solitude I was hoping to gain. After tomorrow the weather in the area will take a turn for the worse and I'll be heading further south on the Kiwi Experience bus once again.

I later took a quick late afternoon stroll around Taupo and had to exercise some willpower in order to skip the bungy jump that was offered over the local river. I took a scenic walk instead along the river for a few hours before returning home in the evening.

No bungy jumping for me today!