Travellin'!
So, Friday at 12.00 I got on the Kiwi Experience bus at Thames, saying a fond farewell to the relatives and accidentally (and much to my chagrin) leaving my hoodie in Jenny’s car. I plan to buy a new one before I travel much further; it’s been gorgeous weather, but down South it may be a bit cooler.
Anyway! I was a little worried that my late entry onto the bus might mean I missed out on things, and unfortunately I was correct. The kayaking to Cathedral Cove was booked out, and I was one of a few unlucky souls billeted in a separate youth hostel populated almost entirely by Germans. So that wasn’t quite as fun.
Still, the day was awesome! We spent a couple of hours at Hahei, and because the day was far too hot for the hour long walk to Cathedral Cove, I lounged on the beach instead with a group of really nice people. We played Frisbee, swam, sunbathed, watched in amusement as our driver and her two trainees acted like six year olds creating an elaborate tunnel system in the sand… The water was absolutely crystal clear, the view was amazing, and Hahei is now very high up on my list of places to buy a holiday home when I win the lottery. The evening on my own at Mercury Bay was a little subdued, but otherwise all was well.
The next day, Saturday, was even more fun. On the stops that morning I hung out with Rachel and Coco, both awesome girls and absolute nutters. At Karanghake Gorge (my second visit, yay!) we nearly lost the rest of the group by stopping to take photos of ourselves in various glamourous poses. When we caught up with them we were all a bit hyper, and tried to make everyone conga along the path, but they refused, the mean people! They wouldn’t even join in when we were singing ‘Hot, hot, hot’ as a homage to Rachel’s sunburn.
After the Gorge, it was off to Rotorua - with one stop at Matamata to take photos of the Hobbiton sign. We stopped at the zorbing place, and Rachel, Coco and I went in one together, all of us screaming and laughing and getting totally soaked. Bit expensive, but very fun! We ended up dripping all over the bus, but no one seemed to mind.
The Rotorua hostel was pretty cool - Rachel, Coco and I teamed up with Amanda to get a room to ourselves - rather reminiscent of sleepovers! They had this amazing, naturally heated spa pool where we spent most of the afternoon before going on the Tamaki Tour - all about the Maori culture.
It was very amusingly done! First our little pick-up bus (or waka, as we were told it really was) had to choose a Chief, and we all had to shout as we ‘rowed’ along in rhythem, Then our Chief - along with others - had to be challenged by four Maori warriors before declaring his peaceful intentions and leading us into the village. All reconstructed, with speakers and guides, and then there was a concert with singing and poi dancing and a haka. There was a hangi, which was absolutely delicious, and we were all very full as we got back on the bus. Then, to cap it off, our driver got us to sing on the way back, and went around a roundabout about half a dozen times as we sang ‘She’ll be coming round the mountain.’
Sunday morning we went to the thermal park, oohing and ahing over the geysers and bubbling pools. Sadly my enjoyment of it was hindered by the fact that half an hour in I began to feel like twelve kinds of crap for no good reason. It meant I couldn’t join in when the others in the group all learned a dance (with much throwing and catching of wooden batons) but I did at least get to laugh at them all from the sidelines.
Fortunately I felt better again by the time we reached Waitomo - though since this happened after I rather publically and humiliatingly threw up I felt the blessing was rather mixed - and I was able to go with perfect health into the Black Abyss.
That was a truly amazing trip. First we abseiled down this rocky crevice, where we switched off our lights while the guides told up that the caverns were an ancient burial ground, and haunted. There were some very creepy stories! Then we went down a zip wire - again in the pitch blackness - while the guides made loud crashing noises in the dark or shouted “Oh God no, quick, grab the stop rope!” or left me hanging alone in the dark half way down… They liked their pranks, those men. Once we were all assembled again they had us all sit on a ledge above the cold, dark water, link arms, prepare to jump… and then they served us tea and biscuits. It’s probably good that none of us jumped early; the water was too shallow to jump into safely unless we used the rubber rings.
The water was freezing, of course - though they claim that in the winter it seems delightfully warm. We pulled ourselves along on ropes for a bit, got out of the rings and had a piggy back race (which Trevor and I sadly lost), drew designs on each others faces with cave mud, formed a train (again on our rings) and were tugged along, admiring the glow worm constellations on the ceiling… It was really funny, because at times we’d all start singing songs from the evening before, and the guide plainly thought we were crazy. I don’t think anyone explained to him why we were all chorusing ‘In the jungle’ or ‘She’ll be coming round the mountain.’
Then, of course, it came time to leave the caves. We abandoned our rubber rings, waded upstream for a bit - sliding ob our stomachs through a narrow, watery crack at one point - and then there was The Waterfall.
There was an easier way up, of course, but all of us but one poor, half-frozen man chose to climb up through the waterfall as their exit strategy. No climbing ropes, but the guides stood there to help us along, telling us where to put our feet and hands, giving us a boost when needed. We had to scrabble up through two quite high rock chimneys full of cascading water, and then again up to the surface. Everyone cheered when the last person made it into the sunshine.
I enjoyed it so much! All in all it took about five hours - though it seemed less. It was cold work, of course; I was very grateful for the wetsuit, which at least wasn’t as penguin-like as the one I wore canyoning. When we got back to the center they gave us soup, which warmed us up, too.
After that, the evening was very quiet - at least for us! Spud, one of the trainee drivers, was sacked out on a double seat when we set off this morning; everyone bullied him unmercifully, and he was at one point forcibly restrained while Jenny, our driver, drew on his face (the bus being driven at this point by the other trainee.) And I don’t think anyone was in any doubt about the Kiwi Experience’s reputation as a party bus when the saw the pair of bright red underpants that were being flown as a flag! What a way to start New Year’s Eve…
We got into Taupo this afternoon, looking at the waterfalls at the edge of town first. Me and the girls got our photos taken by a total stranger, oddly enough - and we got lots of photos of our own, too. Later this afternoon I’m meant to say goodbye to the old year in the most dramatic way possible - by jumping out of a plane at 15000 feet! Hopefully the wind will die down enough for that, because if it doesn’t I’ll be getting up very early on Wednesday morning to go skydiving then instead.
Happy New Year, everybody! I’ll probably update again when I get to Wellington, as I’m planning to stay there a couple of days. Photos will be put up then as well, I hope.
Anyway! I was a little worried that my late entry onto the bus might mean I missed out on things, and unfortunately I was correct. The kayaking to Cathedral Cove was booked out, and I was one of a few unlucky souls billeted in a separate youth hostel populated almost entirely by Germans. So that wasn’t quite as fun.
Still, the day was awesome! We spent a couple of hours at Hahei, and because the day was far too hot for the hour long walk to Cathedral Cove, I lounged on the beach instead with a group of really nice people. We played Frisbee, swam, sunbathed, watched in amusement as our driver and her two trainees acted like six year olds creating an elaborate tunnel system in the sand… The water was absolutely crystal clear, the view was amazing, and Hahei is now very high up on my list of places to buy a holiday home when I win the lottery. The evening on my own at Mercury Bay was a little subdued, but otherwise all was well.
The next day, Saturday, was even more fun. On the stops that morning I hung out with Rachel and Coco, both awesome girls and absolute nutters. At Karanghake Gorge (my second visit, yay!) we nearly lost the rest of the group by stopping to take photos of ourselves in various glamourous poses. When we caught up with them we were all a bit hyper, and tried to make everyone conga along the path, but they refused, the mean people! They wouldn’t even join in when we were singing ‘Hot, hot, hot’ as a homage to Rachel’s sunburn.
After the Gorge, it was off to Rotorua - with one stop at Matamata to take photos of the Hobbiton sign. We stopped at the zorbing place, and Rachel, Coco and I went in one together, all of us screaming and laughing and getting totally soaked. Bit expensive, but very fun! We ended up dripping all over the bus, but no one seemed to mind.
The Rotorua hostel was pretty cool - Rachel, Coco and I teamed up with Amanda to get a room to ourselves - rather reminiscent of sleepovers! They had this amazing, naturally heated spa pool where we spent most of the afternoon before going on the Tamaki Tour - all about the Maori culture.
It was very amusingly done! First our little pick-up bus (or waka, as we were told it really was) had to choose a Chief, and we all had to shout as we ‘rowed’ along in rhythem, Then our Chief - along with others - had to be challenged by four Maori warriors before declaring his peaceful intentions and leading us into the village. All reconstructed, with speakers and guides, and then there was a concert with singing and poi dancing and a haka. There was a hangi, which was absolutely delicious, and we were all very full as we got back on the bus. Then, to cap it off, our driver got us to sing on the way back, and went around a roundabout about half a dozen times as we sang ‘She’ll be coming round the mountain.’
Sunday morning we went to the thermal park, oohing and ahing over the geysers and bubbling pools. Sadly my enjoyment of it was hindered by the fact that half an hour in I began to feel like twelve kinds of crap for no good reason. It meant I couldn’t join in when the others in the group all learned a dance (with much throwing and catching of wooden batons) but I did at least get to laugh at them all from the sidelines.
Fortunately I felt better again by the time we reached Waitomo - though since this happened after I rather publically and humiliatingly threw up I felt the blessing was rather mixed - and I was able to go with perfect health into the Black Abyss.
That was a truly amazing trip. First we abseiled down this rocky crevice, where we switched off our lights while the guides told up that the caverns were an ancient burial ground, and haunted. There were some very creepy stories! Then we went down a zip wire - again in the pitch blackness - while the guides made loud crashing noises in the dark or shouted “Oh God no, quick, grab the stop rope!” or left me hanging alone in the dark half way down… They liked their pranks, those men. Once we were all assembled again they had us all sit on a ledge above the cold, dark water, link arms, prepare to jump… and then they served us tea and biscuits. It’s probably good that none of us jumped early; the water was too shallow to jump into safely unless we used the rubber rings.
The water was freezing, of course - though they claim that in the winter it seems delightfully warm. We pulled ourselves along on ropes for a bit, got out of the rings and had a piggy back race (which Trevor and I sadly lost), drew designs on each others faces with cave mud, formed a train (again on our rings) and were tugged along, admiring the glow worm constellations on the ceiling… It was really funny, because at times we’d all start singing songs from the evening before, and the guide plainly thought we were crazy. I don’t think anyone explained to him why we were all chorusing ‘In the jungle’ or ‘She’ll be coming round the mountain.’
Then, of course, it came time to leave the caves. We abandoned our rubber rings, waded upstream for a bit - sliding ob our stomachs through a narrow, watery crack at one point - and then there was The Waterfall.
There was an easier way up, of course, but all of us but one poor, half-frozen man chose to climb up through the waterfall as their exit strategy. No climbing ropes, but the guides stood there to help us along, telling us where to put our feet and hands, giving us a boost when needed. We had to scrabble up through two quite high rock chimneys full of cascading water, and then again up to the surface. Everyone cheered when the last person made it into the sunshine.
I enjoyed it so much! All in all it took about five hours - though it seemed less. It was cold work, of course; I was very grateful for the wetsuit, which at least wasn’t as penguin-like as the one I wore canyoning. When we got back to the center they gave us soup, which warmed us up, too.
After that, the evening was very quiet - at least for us! Spud, one of the trainee drivers, was sacked out on a double seat when we set off this morning; everyone bullied him unmercifully, and he was at one point forcibly restrained while Jenny, our driver, drew on his face (the bus being driven at this point by the other trainee.) And I don’t think anyone was in any doubt about the Kiwi Experience’s reputation as a party bus when the saw the pair of bright red underpants that were being flown as a flag! What a way to start New Year’s Eve…
We got into Taupo this afternoon, looking at the waterfalls at the edge of town first. Me and the girls got our photos taken by a total stranger, oddly enough - and we got lots of photos of our own, too. Later this afternoon I’m meant to say goodbye to the old year in the most dramatic way possible - by jumping out of a plane at 15000 feet! Hopefully the wind will die down enough for that, because if it doesn’t I’ll be getting up very early on Wednesday morning to go skydiving then instead.
Happy New Year, everybody! I’ll probably update again when I get to Wellington, as I’m planning to stay there a couple of days. Photos will be put up then as well, I hope.