First off, I was fed fresh trout 3 times in the first 24 hours of my stay with my two superb couchsurfing hosts, Daniel and Bheema. Daniel is originally from Germany and Bheema hails from South Africa. The two have been friends for over 10 years and are the creators behind the musical sounds of 'Skelm.' Daniel plays the guitar, harmonica, and ankle bells and Bheema plucks out the jams on his double bass. So, on my first night there, I received a personal concert from the talented duo! Very awesome.
Besides the fresh trout, I got to eat all the feijoas my heart desired! Feijoas are a NZ fruit, green on the outside and you eat them like you would a kiwifruit – sliced down the middle and scoop out the insides. Delish!
The Kaituna River in Rotorua is famous for it's whitewater rafting and sledging adventures! I had never heard of sledging before, so I figured I would give it a go! Basically, you have control of your own 'sledge' which is this partial raft thingy that you rest your chest on and grip the handlebars. You steer with your flippered feet and by turning your sledge with your upper body and hips. My group (in which I was the SOLE female...) maneuvered through rapids, rested in the eddies, and glided along the river. It was really fun but I was surprised by how much effort it took to propel and steer the sledge! We also got to “surf” the rapids with the sledge which rad as! Our photographer was close by at all times to take some good action shots of all the, well, action!
The time in the water went by quickly. I definitely could have played around in the water a bit longer, but I know I would have gotten tuckered out pretty quick! All in all though, a thrilling and super fun river ride!
On one of the non-rainy days, I decided to go on a tramp up and around Ruato Bay which is where I was staying at Daniel and Bheema's (about 25 km out of Rotorua). The first part of the tramp goes straight uphill, so it was a good workout. Most of it goes through the bush and is really lush, green, and beautiful. So quiet and remote in the bush as well. All I could hear was the tink, tink, slosh of my Sigg water bottle in my backpack.
The hike took me nearly 2 hours, and I ended up in this massive crater! So so cool. The trees just towered up on all sides and the whole inside of the crater was mostly long grass and small trees. What a good tramp with a really sweet finale!
Daniel and Bheema had a gig at the Rotorua Night Market so I got to tag along as their groupie! It was a beautiful night, and I was excited to see them perform, doing what they do best :-)
I was just standing there, enjoying the music, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. This guy, with a camera in hand, goes, “Hi! Are you busy at all by chance? I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing us a favor and being in a photo shoot?” I'm like, absolutely!!! Turns out, these guys, Dean and Mikel, are taking photographs for a BNZ (an NZ bank) advert! They had found a guy, Clay, to be their male model but he needed a “girl friend” to walk around the market and be couple-y with! So, I got to be the girl! It was so much fun!! Clay and I had to pretend to be a couple and the guys kept joking that they were really a match making company posing as photographers. Haha, nice ;-)
It was so interesting to be involved in the photoshoot! Every shot took a good amount of time to set up and then when they did snap the picture, we had to do everything veeerry slowly. But it was so much fun! The guys forked over money for Clay to buy me a bouquet of flowers and then later for us to get some baked goods from the market. I got a lemon cake and Clay got a raspberry cheesecake! MhmMM! Sooooo good! Awesome bonus for being the shoot's “talent.” :-D
We got to spend a good amount of time standing in front of Daniel and Bheema while they played music, so that was great. Listening to some awesome live music and being in a photoshoot! How completely random! Rotorua very much exceeded my expectations. In the most positive way!! But, it does smell...something I don't think I would ever really get used to if I lived there.
For my last day in Rotorua, Daniel and Bheema took me for a walk through the Redwoods. It was so nice! And then we all went to the local hot(cold) spot of Hot and Cold. It was so cool! It was a place where two river's merged - one is hot and the other is cold! Crazy cool! So, you could pick your temperature and move closer to one river or the other depending on your preference. So relaxing too :-)
Then, I was off to Taupo, the adventure capital of the North Island! I had gotten a cleaning job working for accommodation at a hostel in town, Blackcurrant Backpackers, so the plan was to stay and work for two weeks and then keep heading south.
Well, this past Friday, the 14th marked my two weeks, and I'm still here in Taupo! And this is because.....
* Drum Roll!! *
I got a job!! Wahoo! I was in Taupo for less then a week when I got hired as Store Supervisor for the internet cafe in town called “Cybershed.” It's really the perfect time for me to find work and settle down in one place for a while. I've traveled NZ for nearly 3 months so far and since the winter is coming, (and, yes, there is no denying that the winter is coming! It has gotten so cold at night!! The sun goes down and poof! brrrr!!! Time for hats and mittens...) I was hoping to work for a few months, make some money, and then continue my travels. So, the timing is excellent!
Cybershed is a really cool place to work too. The other staff are so friendly and easy to get on with, and I get to meet and greet loads of backpackers and locals coming in to use the internet, burn DVDs, make copies, etc. It's a pretty sweet job. And the free internet for myself is a nice perk as well! So, I am excited to have gotten the position and looking forward to bundling up for the winter season in Taupo, NZ!
Lake Taupo (this MASSIVE lake formed when a volcano exploded however many years ago…) is a big part of what makes Taupo so beautiful – with Mt. Tongariro as the backdrop, it's just a gorgeous site! Taupo is also home to the Huka Falls attraction, so on my first weekend here, I mountain biked to the falls with three of my staff mates! The trail was a bit tricky to navigate at times, mostly when it was super steep or going downhill with sandy and loose gravel. There were lots of times where I had to stop and walk my bike up the hills because they were so steep! But it was an awesome work out!
The falls were cool to see too. Loads of water! The jet boats go right up to the falls too, which was kinda cool to watch. We decided to take the road back to Taupo, but not before I fell for the second time that day onto my knee. Apparently, I don't have much respect for my left knee...haha, all scratched up and badly bruised from falling over two too many times! Ah well, as my friend says, “It gives character.” :-)
The other cool thing that has been going on in Taupo for the last 2 weeks has been the “Erupt Festival.” This is a 10 day festival focusing on local, national, and international talent in the arts – dance, music, theater, etc. I was hoping to see at least one show, but the tickets were kind of on the steep side – no good for a backpackers budget. But, working at the Blackcurrant Hostel really has it's perks! I received free tickets to 5 different events! Within the course of a 4 day weekend, I saw a theater production, a juggling/comedy act, a Maori dance performance, an outdoor concert featuring local musicians, and another comedy act! My very favorite one was the Maori dance performance. It is so cool to be able to see another culture's dance and musical chants. I was completely enraptured the entire time! It was very tribal and raw with lots of Maori speak and was definitely a powerful and wholly energetic performance. All thumbs way up!
It will be interesting to stay put in one place for a while. But, I feel really comfortable in Taupo. It's beautiful and has a nice, casual but steady pace to the lifestyle. Lots of fun restaurants and cafes for me to check out too! Big library, lots of walking tracks, and loads of adventure sports (like, skydiving!!) for me to pass the winter days with :-) So, bring on the winter! (I've already got my hot water bottle all ready to go ;-)
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