1 month and 17 days

One month and 17 days, we have been in New Zealand. And a month and 24 days ago, our journey began. That's quite a long time! However...it feels like we have been traveling for much longer, considering the daily new experiences and impressions we gather here (maybe that's why our backpacks keep getting heavier...). One important thing we have learned about traveling: it changes your perception of time! We have explored the North of New Zealand, slept in various beds, and talked to different people. We have had the same conversations over and over again, and realized how exhausting it can be. But we have also learned that from the initial backpacker clichés we exchange ('Where are you from',...'Where have you been'), wonderful conversations with smart and interesting people can develop. In general, we have learned a lot about people, but also about ourselves, and I believe we have changed a bit.

We have learned what deprivation means. What it feels like to get a little sting every time we use our ANZ card at the supermarket or enter our credit card number on the internet to secure a roof over our heads for the night...Ok, that's going in a bit of a dramatic direction, I'm trying to restrain myself in terms of drama.

We have also learned that it is incredibly exhausting to travel from one place to another, visit the biggest tourist attraction there, and then rush to the next hostel. That's not a way to travel, at least not one that I would choose (and I'm not the only one who feels that way...many travelers do too)! Sometimes, all you want to do is wear your pajamas all day, sit on the couch with a huge bowl of cereal, and watch series. It's important to take this (break) time without feeling guilty about missing something groundbreaking (as the saying goes, sometimes you have to sharpen your ax so that you can fell the trees better the next day). You don't have to climb a mountain every day. And you don't have to see every waterfall that has been recommended with five out of five stars. You should always consider, am I doing this for myself or to make someone jealous? Am I taking this photo (or even worse: SELFIE!!!) to remember later, or to show off, to present myself (in front of a admittedly good backdrop). Some moments should be kept to yourself. And most of the time, it's the small and seemingly incidental everyday moments that sweeten your day. For example, yesterday, on our way back from Taupo to Turangi, we hitchhiked with two guys from Kassel in a completely stuffed car. We chatted happily with each other during the whole 40-minute drive, while listening to the sounds of 'They're taking the hobbits to Isengard' remixes at first and later to the (real) 'Lord of the Rings' soundtrack. I will remember that for much longer than our trip to the Redwoods (no offense, New Zealand)...

But enough rambling! Let's get back to good old solid travel descriptions. Wow, I have to think back quite far now, considering that a lot has happened in the last 11 days (yeah, I know...shame on me). After arriving in Rotorua and visiting our hostel (the 'Funky Green Voyager'...so far one of the best), we decided to investigate the mysterious smell of sulfur that is present everywhere here. So our city tour led us to the city park, where it was bubbling and boiling (hot springs...I think) and of course...smelled. If you're tired of walking around or just enjoy it, you can warm your feet in a (supposedly) healing foot bath here.

Rotorua itself is lined with small shops and cafes and is very nice to look at with its many parks, green areas, and of course Lake Rotorua. So we decided to skip the 'Rotorua Thermal Wonderland' (basically the New Zealand 'Yellowstone National Park') and instead spend our time on a cheaper (i.e. free) natural wonder, the Redwoods. Quick explanation: these are many red, big, thick trees. If you consider yourself one of the hardcore nature boys (or girls), you have the opportunity to wander around between the trees for a whopping eight hours. Unfortunately, the 8-hour track was closed, otherwise we would have taken that too (cough cough). So we reluctantly chose the 2-hour track, which quickly turned into a half-hour track (well, they're just trees). In our defense: the round trip alone took one and a half hours each way, and afterwards we were really exhausted.

Our journey took us further to Lake Taupo, the largest lake in the whole country. Somehow, I feel like all New Zealand travelers unconsciously follow a predetermined travel route, and after Rotorua comes Taupo. So here we met Ina and Luisa again, whom we had already met in our previous hostel (not entirely by chance, as we planned to meet again). We were even more surprised when we suddenly found ourselves face to face with Emelie and Simon (remember them? they were the two Swedes we met a few weeks ago while WWOOFING). Oh, what a coincidence (a very nice one, by the way)! Besides the lake, Taupo offers some other money-draining attractions such as skydiving and bungee jumping, or for the poorer and less adrenaline-seeking (or death-seeking) travelers among us, the 'Huka Falls' and the 'Hot Pools', where you can enjoy a hot bath (in the middle of nature). Since we definitely belong to the latter category, we set off with Ina and Luisa to visit the famous waterfall, not without enjoying a delicious crepe at the 'Riverside Market' beforehand (yes, I had to mention that). As it turned out, it took almost as long to find the Huka Falls trail as it did to walk it. Nevertheless, it was absolutely 'worth it' (even though the Huka Falls were more like a rapid).

Another (personal) highlight of our journey is definitely the spontaneous baking of cookies and apple pie with Ina and Luisa. We promptly dug into our creations. Intoxicated by all the sugar, we played some very funny rounds of 'Wizard' - and with regular playing cards! That was new to me and confusing at first, but we had a lot of fun. I definitely won't forget that evening quickly! We rounded off our visit to Taupo with a guided boat trip (let's not get any false illusions: it was a very small boat) on the lake. Battling the high waves, the little ship made its way to the 'Stone Carvings' (which are artworks that were carved into a rock on the lake about forty years ago). It was nice, but this trip didn't bring us more than a nice photo of the carvings and many free cookies...

Our journey continued to Turangi, which borders the southern part of the lake and is located at the foot of Mount Tongariro. By the way, the Tongariro Crossing is the only reason why people are drawn to this remote area (except for trout fishing, of course! how could I forget that!). Accordingly, our hostel is not very busy, but I enjoy that (by the way, it also means that we don't really have much to do)! Together with Roni from Israel, we clean a bit, work at the reception, or alternatively play Monopoly. On one hand, it gives you the feeling of settling down, but on the other hand, there's always something going on and you see new (friendly) faces almost every day. I think I will really enjoy my time here!

Before I finally put an end to my unstoppable talking, I want to briefly talk about yesterday! Richard has been counting the days (or hours...I wouldn't put it past him) until the premiere (December 15th) of the new Star Wars movie for about a year now. And of course, we are NOW in a place where the nearest cinema is forty minutes away by car. Fortunately, Tim, the (very nice) owner of the hostel, had to go to Taupo anyway and offered to take us with him. Another person who also worked for Tim was supposed to come along. We were amazed when we found out that this 'person' was actually the hippie ex-art history student (remember her? the one with the complicated Japanese name) we met a few weeks ago in Whitianga. We were so excited and had so much to talk about! Tim dropped us off right in front of the cinema door, so we could already get our tickets three hours in advance! We spent the waiting time listening to a street musician who covered some well-known sixties songs and collected money to be able to take the bus to Wellington. Man, he was good!

Well, and then the time finally came (please play Star Wars music) and we could immerse ourselves in the sounds and images of the Star Wars universe (honestly, I'm surprised Richard didn't die of excitement!). No spoilers! You'll have to go to the cinema yourself! In a trance-like state and extremely happy, we left the cinema. Now the only worry was how we would get back to Turangi. So we stood by the roadside with our thumbs raised and smiled as much as we could! But the cars didn't stop. And then it started to rain. We started to get antsy. We were about to move on when the two guys from Kassel stopped next to us and cleared the back seat for us. What luck that they were going to Turangi too! Maybe all of this doesn't sound so spectacular, but it was important for me to describe these experiences, because once again, it was a day that became something very special through many small moments!

Wherever you are in the world, we wish you a wonderful time!

Cheers!

Richi&Maggi, Friday December 16th, 2016, Turangi 8:27 pm