EASTER BREAK: Part 3!

This is the last post about Easter Break, I promise!

   Tuesday morning, I woke up early and packed in preparation for my next journey to Taupo. Keith, the owner of Karibu Backpackers, gave me a ride to the bus stop. He’s such a swell guy! He’s the kind of person who restores my faith in backpackers! Anyways, he dropped me off a bit early, so I window shopped in town before the bus came. We rode back to Rotorua, and I was stuck there for an hour and a half before the next bus came to bring me to Taupo. I went to the Pig and Whistle (again!) and got another free drink with another coupon I had. I tried their Swine Lager with my lunch, which was delicious! My family would have liked it – you guys would have liked the restaurant too! A friend from Wellington, who is from Rotorua, came to see me for a little while. It was soo nice to see a familiar face amongst all my travels and meeting so many strangers. A short time later, I hopped on the bus and was Taupo-bound. It was a short bus ride, and when I finally got to Taupo, I had all afternoon and evening with nothing to do. I walked to my hostel, checked in and dropped off all my stuff, and then walked back into town. Luckily, this hostel is much closer to the town centre than my last one! I walked around for a bit, shopped, and saw Lake Taupo. My evening was, once again, pretty relaxed (that seems to be what people do in hostels).

Lake Taupo, 25 miles long!

   Wednesday was a busy day. I woke up around 830, and I felt shaking! I’m not sure if it was an earthquake, but it felt like it may have been a small one. It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought! But I was awake, so I got up, got ready, and walked to the town centre and got some breakfast. I haven’t been eating the best, or often, since I’ve been on my trip, so I thought I should get something relatively good to eat. I had booked a lake cruise for the morning, so I walked down to the boat harbour (after getting lost) and got on the Ernest Kemp. This cruise was about 2 hours long, and went to some famous Maori rock carvings. The carvings were done in the '80s, but they are traditional style and were done with traditional tools. It was so cool! I love all the Maori culture here; I find it so fascinating! Along the way, the skipper let the children come up and drive the boat. Does it surprise you that I went up and got in line with all the little kids? I got to drive the boat, and skipper Simon and I had some nice chats. Overall it was a very fun experience.

All of the rock carvings. There are some to the left, hidden in all the rocks.

A close up. Can you believe this was all done with traditional methods?!

One of the carvings hidden in the rocks.

   After the cruise, I walked from the boat harbour over to Huka Falls. It took me forever to get there! It seems as though I walked along the river for ages! It was definitely worth it though. The falls were beautiful. Apparently, the volume of water that runs through the falls each second is enough to fill an Olympic size swimming pool. It was truly a sight to behold.

I was standing on a bridge in the middle of the falls. They kept on going behind me!

You can kind of see how big the falls are in relation to the boat.
That's the Huka Falls Jet, which is an adrenaline boat ride that brings you real close to the falls.

Representing the Sea Dog!

   On my way back into town, I stopped at a hot stream that was on the way. There were a couple waterfalls feeding into the river, and they were boiling hot. I stopped a while for a swim, and it felt amazing. The hot water was almost too hot, but when it mixed with the cold it was perfect. I didn’t want to leave!

There are two waterfalls to the right of the shot that feed hot water in.
Everyone likes to hang out where the hot and cold water mix!

   Wednesday night, I relaxed. Surprise surprise! I met a Texan who I talked to for a long time. There was another small earthquake at 7ish, I think. Two in one day, lucky me! They were barely noticeable, so they weren’t bad at all.

   Thursday was my travel day back to Wellington. I walked to the bus stop in the rain to catch my 11:15 bus home. The bus ride was long, but nothing eventful happened. I got home around 6:30, unpacked, did some homework, and settled in. I was so exhausted! It seems as though I spent the whole week walking! I had so much fun though, and I’m so glad I went. I’m extremely lucky to be here, and to have these opportunities!

   Today, Friday, marks the first day of class after break. Ugh! I’m not ready for school again! Flatmate Paul brought me my first bit of mail since I’ve been here though, how exciting! Thanks Uncle Clem and Aunt Linda for the lovely card – it brightened my day!
   My mid-trimester break starts in 2 weeks. I have another week off, and it's time to start planning! Any suggestions?