DECEMBER 3rd
After a very long two hours of picking people up for the Kiwi Experience bus at different Auckland hostels, I am now leaving Auckland and going south. I had the option to go north of Auckland, to the Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga, but I decided not to go because it seemed to much like scenery that I have seen before. Therefore I took the bus and went straight to the Coromandel peninsula.
After a very long two hours of picking people up for the Kiwi Experience bus at different Auckland hostels, I am now leaving Auckland and going south. I had the option to go north of Auckland, to the Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga, but I decided not to go because it seemed to much like scenery that I have seen before. Therefore I took the bus and went straight to the Coromandel peninsula.
We stopped in a small town to get some food then we headed for the Cathedral Cove Walk, a walk of 45 minutes to Cathedral Cove and the Cathedral shaped archway.
There was a natural shower with drinking water!
I left the cove before the group because I wanted to know if it was possible to walk on the archway. Well it is impossible because there were trees blocking the way and scary spiders.
This spider actually looks scarier on the photo than in reality...
This spider actually looks scarier on the photo than in reality...
That night we slept in Mercury Bay, also known as Whitianga. In Maori language, Wh- is pronounced as "f", so it sounds like "Fitianga". There were some really cool seashells on Buffalo Beach, and I sent back some of them in a package to Canada because I have too much luggage! I slept at a calm backpackers, called the "Cat's Pyjamas".
DECEMBER 4th
We left Whitianga early to go to the Karangahake Scenic Reserve. This is Spud, our driver guide. It was his first time being a bus driver so he was a bit anxious, he told us!
We left Whitianga early to go to the Karangahake Scenic Reserve. This is Spud, our driver guide. It was his first time being a bus driver so he was a bit anxious, he told us!
There were great natural tunnels, and also man-made ones because there was one gold mining there.
We then passed in a little town called Paeroa, where New Zealand's national soft drink, L & P, was once made. It's a "spring water soft drink" tasting much like 7-up and the Coca-Cola Company bought L & P a couple of years ago because they couldn't stand being #2.
This is a picture from Matamata, really close to where they filmed Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
This is a picture from Matamata, really close to where they filmed Hobbiton in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
There are tours that go to Hobbiton but I've heard they're rather expensive and since Hollywood brought all the sets back to the US, there's really nothing to see. Tourist trap!
This is Rotorua, also know as Rotovegas or Rottenrua.
This is Rotorua, also know as Rotovegas or Rottenrua.
Rotovegas because it looks very similar to Las Vegas. It's a car city because many restaurants have their main entrance in the parking. Also, there's always something so see at every corner. But, it is different from Las Vegas because it is not a casino town. It is famous for its spas and thermal baths. The thermal baths smell sulphur, much like rotten eggs; Rottenrua.
The two last pictures are from the Polynesian Spa, apparently in the top 10 of all the spas in the world. I was thinking of trying it but I visited it and saw that there were only japanese tourists, and hundreds of birds shouting because they like to stay close to the heat of the thermal pools for their eggs I think. So I decided not to go.
Or maybe I should have gone to the Polynesian Spa.
Or maybe I should have gone to the Polynesian Spa.
Just after visiting the Spa, I went to buy a Chicken Satay at a place called Hong Kong Takeaways. It took them over 20 minutes to prepare it and I was going to eat it at the hostel. On my way back, at around 7:30pm, two maori guys mugged me (the Rotorua police department called it an attempted robbery). This is a photo I took from the Policemobile after while they were arresting the two low-lives.
I was then transported to the Police station. First I finished my lunch in the kitchen, then I was in Sergeant Sutton's office.
As he was the Sergeant, all the other cops came in the office every 2 minutes and asked the Sergeant what to do. Sutton was very understanding but scared me because he told me the government might send me back to Canada, because of international conflicts or something like that. Stupid!
I've heard the crime rate in Rotorua is really high. A friend of my friend Damien (who I met at an hostel in Auckland, and then on a street in Rotorua) had all the belongings in his van stolen in front of the Cinema.
This below is the final statement. By the way, yes I did took cover in another Chinese Takeaways, and the two baddies even stayed in front of the door, waiting for me to come outside! But when I took out my mobile phone to call 111 (emergency number here in New Zealand), they went away but we catched them around 20 minutes later, walking on a big street, as if nothing had happened.
I've heard the crime rate in Rotorua is really high. A friend of my friend Damien (who I met at an hostel in Auckland, and then on a street in Rotorua) had all the belongings in his van stolen in front of the Cinema.
This below is the final statement. By the way, yes I did took cover in another Chinese Takeaways, and the two baddies even stayed in front of the door, waiting for me to come outside! But when I took out my mobile phone to call 111 (emergency number here in New Zealand), they went away but we catched them around 20 minutes later, walking on a big street, as if nothing had happened.
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Of course, the Police didn't find the bottles that the maori guys threatened me with. With no evidence, they let them go. I don't know if they had to spend the whole night at the Police station though. Myself I left the Police station around 10:25pm.
I told what had happened to a British guy at my hostel. He said that, just like any Brit would have done, he would have started a fight instantly without thinking about outsmarting them. But he said I did the right thing anyway.
The next morning, while I was buying a takeaway muffin for the bus taking me to the West Coast, I saw the two maori guys on a bench outside. They were with two other criminal-looking friends. I looked at them in the eyes for a couple of seconds while in the Cafe, bought my muffin and when I turned back they were all gone.
