Way to Matamata

Hello dear ones,

After a nice rest in Taupo, we continued our journey to the next destination, Matamata. However, our way did not lead us directly there, but we took a detour via a Hot Springs Beach near Kawhia, to Raglan and Hamilton, until we finally arrived in Matamata 3 days later. We experienced a lot in those 3 days... Originally, there was no sightseeing or tourist attraction on the way to the Hot Springs that we liked, so the plan was to just keep driving. But when we coincidentally had our lunch break in Otorohanga, we discovered that there is a kiwi and bird breeding station there, which can be visited for a small fee. So, we decided to visit the breeding station after our lunch. There, we could see many different bird species, such as owls and ducks, but also keas, lizards, and of course kiwis. Since we had already seen a wild kiwi on Stewart Island, we were very excited to see one again and maybe even take a photo. However, kiwis are nocturnal, so it was very dark in their enclosure at the breeding station, which is why we couldn't take any photos there because you're not allowed to use flash when photographing kiwis. But there was a night vision camera that was live streaming from the kiwi enclosure, and we were able to take a picture from this video :D After 2 interesting hours, we continued towards Kawhia to the Hot Springs Beach. The next day, we went to the Hot Springs Beach in the morning, and honestly, it was a bit disappointing for us because there weren't any real hot springs, unless you dug very deep in the sand... well, we just looked around the beach for a bit and then drove straight to Raglan. It was so beautiful there that we decided to have lunch there and take a 2-hour break at the beach. We sunbathed, watched the surfers (because this is the best surf spot in New Zealand), and went swimming in the sea. We could have stayed here longer. Unfortunately, we had to drive to Matamata where we had booked a tour at the Hobbiton Movie Set for the next day with dinner afterwards. We then drove to a campsite near Matamata via Hamilton... about the campsite, I'll just say this much... I didn't shower and only went to the toilet when I really, really had to. It was really disgusting. We have slept at many free campsites with pit toilets that were also disgusting, but at least we didn't have to pay for those. Unfortunately, there was only this one nearby... I was afraid that some animals would attack me from the ceiling and walls... well, I survived and showered twice as long as usual at the next campsite :D