Warm on the North

So, Sally and i have made it safe back to the North Island. We are currently chilling in Taupo. Yes, for those of you who read we were heading to Rotorua, you read that right: Lake Taupo. It is only an hour from Rotorua. Here is the story:

Sally and I were in the airport in Christchurch ready to fly into Auckland and then get a bus to Rotorua. I was looking in the travel book about Rotorua and could not find the name of the hostel we had pre-booked to stay at. I asked her for the printout from our hostel reservations. She started reading it to me and then read directions from the Taupo bus stop... that caught my attention. Taupo? Did you say? Yes. Why would it give us directions from the Taupo bus stop when we are in fact staying in Rotorua? Upon closer inspection of the address of the hostel, it said that Taupo was the city it was located in and NOT in fact Rotorua... Guess we were headed to Taupo then.

It is a really beautiful town, what we have seen so far. And it is very similar to Rotorua, except without all the crowds, so it's not bad. Yesterday we hiked all over the area. There are a lot of thermal springs in this area. Yesterday we hiked all along the river where thermal pools and falls were everywhere. The river itself is used as a major electricity source and had some pretty impressive water flow through it. At one point we crossed the river and headed up the road to a goethermal area called Craters of the Moon. It reminded me of Yellowstone on a VERY small scale. THere were mud pools, craters, steam and lots of rotten egg smell. After hiking around that area for a good hour or so, we finally made our way back to the hostel. Overall we were hiking/ walking from 10am to 4pm when we got back. My legs are sore! Thankfully, this is a hotsprings area, so today we head to the springs! We are going to soak out the walking and cold and be spoiled for a little while before heading back to Samoa.

I hope you have enjoyed my random ramblings and imputs. Sally and I have had a blast travelling all around this gorgeous country. I would love to come back someday and see the things I couldn't afford on this trip or just couldn't get around to it. So, for those of you who want a visit here someday yourself, I offer myself as your travel buddy. :)

I probably will not post on this trip again. Auckland will be busy and quick and then we head back. So, until I cross that International Date Line again...