Day 35: Driving in NZ and Rotorua

This morning I set off from Auckland as I was determined to see some more of the North Island before my flight to Queenstown (South Island) on Wednesday. I've been into Maori culture (Once Were Warriors, WhaleRider) for years and I was not going to let sickness get in the way of that. Sure, I couldn't eat food from the hangi but at least I could see a Maori village.

The drive from Auckland to Rotorua was absolutely gorgeous. The sky was clear nearly the whole way and the blue color of the sky here is different from any I've seen before. The 3.5 hours in the car went smoothly and I found driving on the left quite fun. I checked into Treks Rotorua hostel and then headed for Whakarewarewa.

Whakarewarewa is a Maori village where 70 people live and there are tours 365 days of the year. As I had come at an odd time, I was fortunate to get a personal tour from Aneta, who was born and raised at the village. This experience is now THE highlight of my trip. The tour was awesome and so was the village. It's got bubbling mud, geysers, and hot bathing pools (for residents only!) in addition to some cool architecture. I ended up staying at the village until closing.

Upon returning to Treks, I bumped into a British guy who had been at my hostel in Auckland. He was heading to the Polynesian Spa and so was I as soon as I ate some of my tasty white bread and bananas. I went back to my room and talked to one of my roommates for a while (I always seem to get side-tracked). I finally headed over to the Polynesian Spa for some natural hot springs. The experience was okay but not great. I'd been to a better version of this in Costa Rica at Arenal so I was not wowed. Perhaps had I been with someone and feeling a bit better then it would have been more enjoyable. Luckily, I did run into the British guy after about 30 minutes so I had someone to chat with. He's doing a true around the world tour. Much more comprehensive than mine. Of course, by day 30, I was ready to go home. I don't feel that way anymore but I have no idea how people travel for six months or more. That sounds exhausting!