Rotorua
Sun 25th Jan
I had a shower at 05:30 so that I wouldn’t stress about a possible delay in going for my bus. I was very relaxed and could take my time over the packing. I dropped off my key and went to Sierra for a chai.
I walked slowly up the hill to the bus terminus. I had to wait nearly half an hour, but we left bang on 10:00. We went via the airport. Boring countryside as far as Hamilton where we stopped for 30 minutes. I got talking to Ulrika and Athena.
The countryside was much more beautiful from Hamilton to Rotorua. Farmland, horses, sheep, llamas, cows, clumps of trees…and interesting little hills left over from the volcanic era. Oh, have I mentioned anywhere that I had planned to go to Rotorua on Sunday ?
We were about half an hour early getting into Rotorua because there were no pickups along the way. After listening in on Athena questions regarding tour costs, I started walking up Fenton St in the direction of the motels/hotels/hostels.
I stopped at a few places (there were many) and compared prices. The good thing was that there was no problem with vacancies. The more expensive ones were around 190 and 170; a couple were 110. Heading back towards town I stopped at Gateway Intl motel and got the price reduced from 130 to 110Nzd. Great big room with kitchen area and big bath tub; at under 50Gbp, I was pleased with that.
I unpacked a few things and went to the Pig and Whistle in the town centre. As I was having a good day, I ended up having 3 pints of Porter; the tastiest I’ve had to date.
On the way back to Gateway I called into a Woolworths and bought steak, milk, an onion, can of chick peas and bottle of red. It was unfortunate that I bought the cheaper chuck steak which was not so tender, otherwise, it was fun to cook for myself.
I watched some News on TV; the TV channel options seem pretty good. I was happy with the choice of accommodation.
Mon 26th Jan
I had a little spell in the early hours when I had trouble going back to sleep. When I got out of bed in the morning I noticed a sign for Spa Bath in the bathroom. Aaaah, it wasn’t just a big tub, it was a spa bath. Then I took more notice of the water jet outlets and the on/off switch.
I filled the bath with water and stepped in. I couldn’t figure out how to switch it on to start it. I’d sort of given up, when I noticed you could press down on one of the nobs around the edge of the bath…and hey presto the jets started pumping / ejecting water. What luxury…a nice hot spa bath/massage. It made the 50Gbp cost of the room well worth it.
So, I went walkabout looking for hot/thermal springs or bubbling sulphur hot pools. Of course the area smelled of sulphur but it wasn’t very interesting. There are lots of tracks you can take to be in the area of interest. I got talking to a Brit lady who had done an overland and had been to Kenya and Tanzania.
I called in at Woolworths to buy a rump steak, a courgette and bottle of red before going back to my room. I ‘trimmed’ the steak and booked my bus ticket to Napier for the following day.
I went to another walkway by the lake which actually had more interesting sulphur pools and steam vents. Then it took me quite a while to find the thermal pools (I was looking in the wrong place) where you sat and dangled your legs/feet in the hot water. The water was only about a foot deep and there were quite a few people there. I expected to be sitting on rocks, but it was all very simple and basic.
I went from there to the Pig and Whistle expecting to enjoy a cocktail happy hour reduction of 10Nzd each, down from 16Nzd. But because it was Auckland anniversary..a public holiday..happy hour was not in place. Instead I had porter again; nice but I was looking forward to a change.
From there I went back to Gateway and cooked a lovely rump steak with onion, courgette and chick peas. I used the spa bath again ; very relaxing. I watched some news on TV and went to sleep.
Napier
Tues 27th Jan.
I took my time getting going as my bus wasn’t until 1pm. I packed, I washed the frying pan a bit more thoroughly, I made coffee, I ran the Spa bath. The water jets massage felt really good.
I checked out about 09:30 and left the rucksack in reception. I half decided to see a geyser. I wasn’t sure where it/they were; I stopped at a golf club for directions. They directed me over the golf course whereas had I just followed the main road I would’ve reached there in half the time. But I did see a bubbling mud pool.
I went into the reception for the complex.
I was immediately put off by the formality of the process. A blue wrist band on one side; a red wrist band on the other; a guided tour starting at 10:00; the geyser at 10:15…and all costing 100Nzd (45Gbp).
I decided against it and went back to Gateway to collect my pack. Good decision, as on talking to Stuart at the bus stop, he said that someone comes along with a bunch of chemicals at the appointed time and throws them into the vent/hole to trigger a reaction to cause the white clouds of smoke. So, all manufactured for the tourists; I’m glad I didn’t waste my money.
I went into town for a chai and to talk to Phil and to do a FB post. From there to the bus stop and tourist info to use their wifi to at least have some idea of Napier accommodation.
An hour and a quarter to Taupo where we had a 45 minute stop. The countryside got more hilly with huge areas covered in forest…both old and newly planted; there were some farms as well with lots of sheep and cows.
Over 2 hours to Napier. I walked towards the waterfront where most of the hotels seemed to be. More or less the first one I checked out was Arthouse Backpackers. It ticked all the boxes … only 35Nzd (15Gbp), lower bunk bed, only one older guy in the 4 bed room.
I asked Arthur about the location of pubs and ended up at The Rose , Irish pub. I had 2 Kilkennys then went Woolworths for a snack which turned out to be a packet of spicy saveloy sausages.
Back to the Rose for 1 beer then to my hostel at about 9:30pm. The other guy was in his bed so I quietly sorted myself out in the dark and got into bed.
Wed 28th Jan
I had a good sleep. The other guys name is Ross and he didn’t snore. I showered and went downstairs; he offered me some of his coffee. We had a good long chat outside; it was overcast and threatened rain.
I went to the beach area as the cloud started to lift a bit. I decided to walk by the port all the way around to where the road went up to the top of Bluff Hill. It was quite a steep climb but good fun/exercise. The one disappointment was that the only view was over the port and not across the city.
I got slightly lost on the way down, but found the Centennial Garden which had a waterfall and lovely flowers. I went for a chai then to PaknSave where I bought chicken breast, courgette and cauliflower.
I lay on the grass near the beach for a bit. I enquired at tourist info about a specific route which looked like a cycle lane to get to the 2 nearest wineries. I took my shopping back to the hostel and did a little food prep.
I went to the Pavilion bar up Marine Parade after 4pm for their happy hour and had a jug (a litre) of beer for 14Nzd. Back to the hostel to cook dinner; the 3 ‘Cs’…chick,courg,cauli cooked quickly and tasted really good especially with the addition of some Spice Paste for Indian buttered chicken from the free food box.
After a chat with Ross I went to the Rose for a nightcap; it was very loud due to their quiz night, but fun to try to answer some of the questions. Then back to ArtHouse…a bit of a chat then to the room.
Thurs 29th Jan
Had a good sleep. Chatted with the Korean guy. About 09:30 I went to the bike hire shop because I wanted to cycle to the two closest wineries. I was advised against using the direct / main roads route and to use a cycle track that would’ve taken much longer.
Only about an hour and a quarter each way but I didn’t want to rush the experience so I gave it a miss. I went for a chai. I spoke to Tom and he’s flying to Nelson on Fri/Sat. That made up my mind to leave Napier on Friday. I booked my ticket; the bus leaves at a stupid time…1:50pm, arriving Wellington before 8pm. A horrible time, but oh well.
I hung around the hostel for a while and took the opportunity to wash a pair of socks, underpants and my shorts. I chatted with Ross then went walkabout after 3pm. I went in the opposite direction to usual where there are very expensive hotels/motels on Marine Parade overlooking the sea. I slowly wandered back taking pics and videos.
Oh, I haven’t mentioned that the sun is blistering today. I lay in the sun in the morning. My washing dried very quickly!! At the tourist info I asked if one could buy a ferry ticket from a counter at the terminal …apparently, yes.
At that point it was just after 4pm and I went to the Pavilion Bar for 2 jugs; they play good music too. I went back to Arthouse and cooked up a very tasty chicken, cauliflower and green peas that a lady donated. The Indian spice paste added a lot of flavour.
As it was still early I went over to Rose for a Kilkenny. I chatted with Ross and watched some TV before going up to bed.