And I'm gonna use it.
Back on the bus today. I nearly missed it this morning. But first, last night -- my last night in Rotorua -- was great fun. I took the day off, wandered the streets and then caught a movie ("The Town" -- pretty good). It's one of the few films I've seen in theaters over the last year, so it was really nice. Then I walked over to an Irish pub with a special -- beer and a Shepherd's Pie with New Zealand lamb in it for $10 NZ, or about $8. While at the pub reading my book I looked up and suddenly saw Stefan and Michael; Stefan I'd met in Auckland at the hostel there, and then later when I headed up to Cape Reinga, and Michael I met while headed up to the Cape as well. They had run into each other on the street, and then right after run into me. We had a great time hanging out, and went from that pub to the Belgian bar nearby so that I could impress upon the German and Austrian (respectively) the wonder of Belgian beer. They actually had not heard about it before. I was shocked. The bar had a blues night going on, and it was really great music. They also had Maredesous on tap. Wow.
I keep running into people here and it reminds me a bit of traveling in Egypt. The country isn't as small as some (I mean, I'm in Taupo now and the lake is bigger than Singapore!)...but, everyone travels the same route. The towns are a bit small and quiet, and so we keep running into each other. Egypt was hardly small and quiet, but the same thing happened there too. Of course, I was there in the heat of summer, and the lowest possible time for tourism (August).
Today has been a rather busy day. It's chilly here in Taupo -- 49 degrees Fahrenheit right now. We did a roundabout Rotorua by bus before heading down here earlier today. I got to see everything else I hadn't seen yet -- the Government Gardens, the geyser outside the touristy Thermal Wonderland (didn't go), and then the Huka Falls, on the way over to Taupo. The Huka Falls were AMAZING. The falls produce energy for eight different power sources, geothermal and thermal. It flows at about 220,000 liters per second and can fill five Olympic-sized swimming pools with water in one minute. There are no eels in the Waikato River, the country's longest river (that also drains Lake Taupo), because eels cannot swim the falls. About 50% of kayakers and 10% of rafters come out unharmed from the final 11-meter drop of the falls (after being pulsed through a frantic channel), and yet, people still try. The undertow on the falls is apparently very strong, deep, and deadly, but the waters below it are turquoise, clear and absolutely beautiful.
After visiting the falls, we headed into town. I went on a kayak trip down the Waikato River with another fellow Californian (from El Monte!) that I'd met on the bus. We both joined a friend of a friend of my Aussie friends in Rotorua on the trip, plus another girl (he was seemingly with). It was chilly, but beautiful. And after about 30 minutes or so, we headed over to two waterfall hotsprings, an area called Spa Park. We warmed up in the very very hot waters. A few others began to show up, some with Stella, and we shared a drink and continued relaxing. It was so casual, lovely and -- best of all -- free. Then we headed back down the river, stopping about 500 meters short of the Huka Falls (whew). After a sunset walk by the lake and around town, Wilson and I stopped by the store and grabbed some Ginger Beers and a bit of candy, and retreated back to the hostel to watch "Dodgeball." Hard knock life.
Ah, I forgot to mention. On the way into town we stopped for some bungee jumpers. I really really wanted to do it. It's tough for me to get an adrenaline rush, and frankly standing up there didn't seem so bad (I was up along the edge). But obviously it's very different being there ready to go, and having to commit to the jump yourself. However, the snap of the rope and the pull made me wary, especially regarding my back and neck injuries. I spoke with the people there in the office, and those who had done it before, and sadly decided it was best to wait 10 years, come back to New Zealand, and bungee when the back and neck are solid...then to take the risk of worsening my injuries while they're still healing up. Sigh. Guess that's life. Though the hanging would be actually good for the neck and back -- it's a therapy move -- the snap is problematic. Too bad, it would have been nice to jump in the homeland of the inventor of bungee. I guess I'm glad I went sky diving before my wreck. That also has a nice tug when the chute comes out. Silver lining...
Tomorrow on to the Waitomo Caves, then it's to the Tongariro National Park -- aka the set for Mordor. I'm not sure whether there will be much connectivity there, so it might be a while til I update again. I'm hoping the weather clears up from the current snow and rain by Sunday, so I can attempt the roughly eight-hour crossing. I'm also hoping to do the summit, which adds another three hours to the trip. That's a 6 a.m. drop off and a 5 p.m. pick up. Things will be tight, so we'll see what happens. If weather or timing doesn't hold up, I'm prepared to turn back, cut out portions, etc. Hopefully not though. What is interesting is how ill prepared a lot of the people I've met here are. They don't even have hiking gear, and they're talking about the crossing. "Oh boy, that'd be cool in the snow, right?"
"If you don't die," was my response. Guess it was a bit of a buzz kill, but c'mon.
Just five minutes left. Gotta go. Later.
No comments:
Post a Comment