Rainbow Springs

! WARNING: This entry, especially the pictures, will include disproportionately many kiwis!

At night I had to go to the toilet; but it was raining heavily. So I waited until the morning - it was only drizzling, but my bladder was about to burst.
I don't really like it in this bus, I don't get along with the lifestyle very well. But it's only for tonight, I will spend my last night in Rotorua at the hostel.
Today my host needed some time for his house, to take care of all POSSIBLE matters. I could have watched movies all day, but I didn't want to. Besides, the weather suddenly didn't seem so bad anymore and I had to take advantage of that.
So I quickly talked to Chiara and arranged a meeting. The only problem: how to get to Rotorua? I live half an hour outside and don't have a car.
You guessed it: Hitchhiking. Yay!
But that actually went pretty smoothly and after 10 minutes a nice mother of two small children took me to Rotorua.
And then Chiara and I made our way to the Rainbow Springs. It's a nature park on the edge of the city, promising rugged forests, native birds and... kiwis (!!!). I had to go there!
The park was really picturesque, I have fallen in love with New Zealand's forest. In several aviaries, the typical birds of New Zealand were sitting, sometimes a bit sad: TUI, Wood Pigeon, Morepork, Kea and many more. But the actual highlight, of course, was once again the Kiwi House.
Again, no photos were allowed, sorry about that. But it was so nice to see those cute little birds again. I was also able to deepen my knowledge about the kiwis (the information panels were really good!) and found my dream job: Assistant at a kiwi breeding station. Awesome!
The park also had several small playgrounds to offer, where Chiara and I could be kids again. But what really excited us was the 'Big Splash'. First, you follow an artificial stream through the jungle in a boat, then you are lifted several meters high and then ride down a steep ramp. Splash.
Not comparable to a real roller coaster, but still a little thrill. We did that ride four times in total, I think they thought we were stupid. But it was fun (even though it was more of a 'Tiny Splash'...)
The weather was great, the sun was shining and it was even a bit too warm - overall, a great afternoon!
Afterwards, we drove back to Rotorua CBD to do some shopping. Tomorrow I will treat myself to a proper dinner again, I'm looking forward to it.
And then I have to figure out how to get back. You can't hitchhike from the city center, so I walked for about an hour on main roads and highways until I reached a relatively clear road. And there, believe it or not, a truck driver picked me up. It was a great experience, even though he was smoking.. Then it was just a short walk to the bus...
Only one more night!