It was a mission getting up this morning due to the jet lag making me think it was 4am when it was actually 7am! I eventually managed to get the motivation to get up however and as if by magic by room was full of sleeping people when I emerged from my top bunk. I never heard anyone come in so I must have been tired! I didn't really have much to do when leaving the hostel as I had barely unpacked my bag since arriving, and after gathering all my stuff together I headed out into Auckland.
First stop of the day was the Kiwi Experience office to try and sort out my booking. It turned out that I was already booked onto the 17th and that the email I sent them last week about having that date did in fact get through to them. This meant I could crack straight on with touring New Zealand. How it works is basically there are sectors made up of a few days, so my first sector is Auckland to Wellington. I am automatically booked onto buses from here to Wellington for the coming days on the minimum time, however if I want to stay longer somewhere I can. I am just going to do minimum time to Wellington because I basically pass back the same way back to Auckland minus a few stops, so if I miss out on anything I don't need to worry so much.
After getting onto my bus which was classed as full, we set of for our first stop Hot Water Beach. Another thing with Kiwi Experience is that it works more as a tour company than a hop on hop off bus. It is suitable for people of all budgets with options of free stuff to the big thrills along the way. To be honest I'm still trying to get my head round it all myself. After eventually getting out of Auckland after a few problems with someone's booking, we stopped off at a service station for a toilet break. Our driver who is staying on the bus all round NZ on the minimum time was very good because he so honest about everything! I have 42 days to do a 25 day minimum trip valid for a year so I have a bit more time on my side so I will probably change drivers a few times!
Continuing on through the lush green countryside, we continued on to the town of Thames. En route our driver gave us forms of optional activities and accommodation which was all pretty easy to sign up for. I feel far more confident now as our driver knows the things worth doing, as well as the things on a budget. When arriving in Thames which was a supermarket stop, we were basically told by the driver it was a s***hole. Thames is basically an old gold mining town. It wasn't that bad though and I liked looking out on this boardwalk with my first impressive views over this big river mouth with hills in the background full of birds. I did take the chance of getting food here too at NZs other big supermarket Pak n Save. I also got some folders as my other ones had fallen apart!
We then continued through this winding road through the rolling hills straight through to Hot Water Beach. After checking into the hostel and having some time to sort out our stuff, we all headed down to the beach famous for its natural hot pools. This area basically lies on a volcanic rift which means that the distance from the crust to the mantle is less than usual. This also means that you can dig holes in the beach at low tide which fills with heated water. Despite being unsuccessful when digging my own hole as it had cold water, I just stole other peoples, although some were unbearably hot even letting out steam! I eventually found a nice one which I relaxed in the warm water for a while. Before long however the tide came in which cooled down the pools as the waves engulfed the pools we dug!
After returning to the hostel, our next optional activity was Cathedral Cove which was a short drive away up the coast. Only accessible by foot or boat, I got my first taste of NZ hiking as I passed along this coastal path through trees and past open countryside with sheep as far as the horizon in the green rolling hills. There were also brilliant coastal views of the islands out to sea, and before long we dropped down to Cathedral Cove. This was basically a big archway formed through erosion, with a few stacks out to sea. This was all surrounded by a white sandy beach, made better by the fact it had been a hot sunny day all day.
After returning back along the same path back to the car park, a walk I completed in sandals, we were transferred back to the hostel. I cracked straight on with dinner upon return, and it was nice to be cooking in daylight as there is effectively darker mornings and darker evenings here compared to what I had in Australia. It was noticeably cooler though this evening compared to Australia. Dinner this evening was beef and vegetables with rice which probably sounds better than it was! By evening I spent my time sorting out my paperwork and having a good read of my kiwi experience book to see what I really want to do. I need to be careful because there are so many things to do!
Before long most of my dorm were going to bed, so I followed suit although I had to get sorted in the dark. All in all I have got the impression that kiwi experience is going to be very good at making sure I see everything. I probably don't even need my lonely planet guide, although it does give me a greater insight into things. All I need to do is have good dreams about the things I really want to do here in New Zealand!
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