Tokoroa, Rotorua, Taupo, and back to Tokoroa!

It's a lovely sunny and warm day here in Tokoroa on this 5th of December. It's super easy to dry the laundry on the clothes line in the back yard. I love that. I also love that there is a street here in Tokoroa called "Dee Street".

Birgit and I have been busy travellers this past week. We got the van all geared up and ready to go! It's a beauty, and we've named him Hector. Most of you already know about my habit of naming automobiles and talking about them as if they are my friends. Hector is no exception. He's one classy guy, and I think he and Johnny could be pals.

Hector has a German sticker on the back of him that translates loosely into "I have a heart for assholes". How awesome is that? I want one of those stickers for Johnny. I'll take a picture of Hector's sticker later and post it here. For now, you can see Birgit and I all ready to hit the road.

Here's a classic sheep shot below. The neatest part about the hillsides here on the North Island is that the fences go right up along the tops of the hills and down and around, and the short fence posts are always perpendicular to the ground, even on steep land. It looks weird to see all these fences, and the sheep or cows hanging out on the steepest of fields.

We drove to Rotorua, the smelliest place in NZ, I am sure. It isn't as bad as the manure they spread in Chilliwack, but the sulphur smell here isn't very pleasant to breathe in all the time. The whole place is scattered with smelly, bubbling pools of water or mud. Steam is escaping from everywhere! Here's a small boiling mud pit in a park in the centre of town.

Birgit and I stayed in the best little hostel called The Funky Green Voyager. We met up with Jean-Francois from Quebec City, Hannes from Germany, Marc from France, and Magnus from Germany. The first day it was raining severely, so I went for a walk in town with Marc. We got drenched, but saw some neat things like this post on the entrance to a Maori house.

In the evening, the whole lot of us went to the Polynesian Spa to take a well-deserved soak in the mineral pools overlooking hundreds of gawking sea gulls and a steaming lake. It was very touristy, or as most of the travellers here say, "touristic", but it was nice to relax.

The following day, the weather changed for the better, so we walked the trails at Waimangu Thermal Valley.

After the tour, we kept driving south towards the Waikite Valley hot springs (the same one Hans took us to last week). On the way there, Hector was a bit leary about going down the steep steep hills along the way. (Greg, it's like that hill in Whiterock - what was the angle of that street, like 39 degrees or something insane?)

The five friends (Jean-Francois, Marc, Hannes, Birgit, and myself) planned my first real hike here in NZ along the Tongariro Crossing. It's almost 19 kilometres of hiking near Mt.Doom from Lord of the Rings (the real name is Mt. Ngauruhoe, and don't ask me how to pronounce that).

It was a little bit chilly, and a tiny bit windy at the top...

In other words, it felt like I was hiking in Banff National Park in the middle of winter. Snow! So awesome! And people laughed when they saw I packed a scarf, my toque, and my new gator mittens for the summer in NZ!! Who's laughing now?

The view from the first main summit:

Near the end of the trail:

Some of the plants in the forests here are similar to what I've seen in Canada, like the ferns, for example.

The day after the hike, Jean-Francois and Birgit and I went to see the Huka Falls in Taupo (see first photo below) and then headed to the Waikite Valley for a third dip in the hotsprings!

The temperature finally warmed up by the time we got to Waikite Valley. I was wishing the hot springs weren't so hot...

After getting slightly sunburned, we said "Au revoir!" to Jean-Francois, and took Hector back to Tokoroa just in time to meet up with Hans and Elaine at a local church Christmas dinner.

Regan and Ziane are my new best friends who like to have piggy-back rides...

Hector is having some difficulties shifting gears, so Hans examined Hector and consulted with the "local clutch specialist"...

Hans was impressed that I knew what 'double clutching' meant (thanks Greg!). Hans is fixing Hector's clutch today and then Birgit is going to continue her travels and drive Hector to Wellington, and I am going to go to Auckland to meet up with Beth, my lovely Canadian friend I met while working at King Pacific Lodge in BC this past summer.

Whew! That's one biggin' update! I've been sitting here in the internet cafe for so long that I'm starving (what else is new, right Birgit?). So I'll go feed myself before I get too glucose deprived and see about how I am going to get to Auckland tomorrow and figure out where I will sleep. It's a continuous task while travelling - finding food and shelter. I'm looking forward to staying in one spot for a week or so soon. Maybe Beth and I can do that on the sandy beaches up north. That's one dandy good idea!