Firstly, apologies that this post has taken a little while... wifi is somewhat dodgey wherever we go at the moment. I try to navigate to all areas of the hostels to find a good spot but fail everytime!
So what have we been up to since my last post?!
Well... we left Paihia to travel straight down to Tauranga. Now, if travelling has taught me anything so far it is that England is tiny, it takes so long to get to places in New Zealand, even if they look close together on the map (yes, I am that person). It took 8 hours on the inter city bus to get from the Bay of Islands down to Tauranga. We did have a stop and change in Auckland which broke it up, but it was a hefty journey! We were due to stay with my family friends who live in Te Puna, around 30 minutes outside of Tauranga, and thanks to some of my finest eyelash fluttering (or the fact that I looked like a confused tourist that couldn't pronounce Te Puna) the driver agreed to drop us there which was great... until he pulled over on the highway and attempted to get our bags out from the driver side as cars raced passed at 80mph. In the end it resulted in me having to clamber into the luggage compartment from the safe side and dig out our bags ... I always like to make a sterling first impression wherever I go.
In Te Puna we were lucky enough to be staying with Linda and Su, good family friends of my Grandparents. Although I had heard a lot about them, it was the first time I had met them and they were so welcoming and after a few nights in hostels it was amazing to be in a lovely house around lovely people who wanted to look after you!
We briefly went to drop our luggage at their house (which is so beautiful - acres of avocado trees) before heading out to dinner at Lindas brothers. He lives in a gorgeous house up in the hills with views of Tauranga and the mountains - I've never been to a house like it. We were spoilt with New Zealand lamb which was perfectly cooked on the bbq and salads and vegetables - I could hear my body thanking me after many nights of fish fingers. It was a really lovely evening and everyone was so welcoming and interested in our travels, giving us great advice. We then experienced the BEST nights sleep in the most comfortable bed and were blessed with our first lie in of the trip, which was much needed.
On our first day in Tauranga we travelled to Hobbiton in nearby Matamata. Hobbiton (for all you non Lord of the Rings fans is the actual SHIRE) was the best day! It's quite expensive as entry, including the tour is $75 but all I can say is if you love Lord of the Rings it is 100% worth it. The tour lasts about 2 hours and was brilliant from start to finish. It's not your standard boring tour, it's upbeat and good fun and they give you loads of time to explore, take photos as well as telling you loads of great trivia about the films and the filming process. You get to go to all the iconic movie scenes, the hobbit houses including those belonging to Bilbo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee ... you also get to see the famous party tree. We even went to the actual Green Dragon pub and were given a complimentary drink. You can choose from three of their uniquely brewed beers - we chose the cider and it didn't dissapoint. All in all it was a great day and I actually managed to navigate myself around miniature props, ponds and mounds without tripping or falling or breaking anything - winner!
On the way home we stopped at Lindas cousin who lived in another amazing house and had another drink, which awkwardly went straight to our heads following the cider and lack of lunch (unprepared)... it's safe to say that I was tripping all over the place trying to find their toilet. Dinner was another amazing bbq, more lamb which was delicious and more wine...
On day two in Te Puna I awoke to what I now see as my missed vocation... avocado farming. Now, I like an avocado or 'avo' as they call them over here, but I had no idea how they grew (it's on trees). Anyway, I can't really remember any technical terminology (sorry Su!) but basically I used this long thing that has a net to catch an avacado and a little string you pull to break the branch.. it genuinely blew my mind and I felt completely powerful and professional and I am expecting a call from Linda and Su anytime now, begging me to come back.
We then drove to the beach in Tauranga, which is a beautiful place. We climbed Mount Monganui, it didn't take too long but it was a steep climb. The view was amazing, as always. The climb definitely earnt us a nice lunch and we ate on the seafront at a cafe, the highlight of that definitely being the beetroot chocolate cake - it tasted so good and being beetroot, it without doubt was one of my five a day.
It was sad to leave Linda and Su's on Thursday but we had to get an early morning bus to Rotorua. It only took an hour or so which was nice compared to our previous journey!
Rotorua was not exactly what I had expected. It was busy and big but compared to some of the places we have visited it didn't have the same warm, relaxed feel. We only had the one day there and unfortunately we found ourselves to be incredibly restricted without a car. However we made the best of it and decided to set off to do all we could on foot. First, we went to its local Kuirau park to visit the hotsprings. These springs are quite interesting, as I described them at the time as 'magical' (I must have been tired) but they really smell of sulfur which isn't the most pleasant smell. They are completely naturally occuring and have become central to the history of Rotorua. Maori legend believes that a beautiful woman who used to bathe in the hot springs disappeared, eaten by a monster and the gods were so angry they made the water boiling and bubbly (okay so I know that sounds like a story made up by a child but it is something like that I promise).
After lunch we ventured across town to a practising Maori village and church which was interesting and nice to explore parts of their culture.
From there we walked for about an hour beside the lake to the Polynesian Spa. It cost $25 to get in but this was for an unlimited amount of time and access to seven hot pools. The pools were modern day versions of 'priest pools' which were brought in to utilise the water from the hot springs for healing purposes. Each pool ranges in pH and temperature and are believed to have therapeutic benefits to muscles and joints. I'm not sure what exactly it did for me but it was relaxing, even if I emerged looking like a pink prune (not my strongest holiday look).
We spent our last night wondering around the night markets which had a lovely atsmosphere - the perfect end to a day exploring Rotorua.
You are now up to date lovely people! I shall post again soon! X
No comments:
Post a Comment