Week 3 - Auckland 2.0 + Rotorua

On Monday evening I landed safely back in Auckland and the first thing we had to do was wash the sand off the tires of the rental car because you're actually not allowed to drive on the beach. But I was able to practice driving in peace because my fear of driving was slowly building up, but it was super easy and gave me confidence! So first we went to 'Washworld' 😂 Afterwards we had a delicious dinner, since a lot of backpackers have jobs in restaurants and cafes, they often get a coffee, a meal or a real bread for free🤌🏼 It's really not easy here To save money, you take everything you get! I also bought a cute French press and prepared myself for a few months of filter coffee:

The next day in Auckland was a big day of shopping with Elena. Even though I had been packing for months, I was of course totally wrong for NZ 😭 But I wasn't aware at home that hiking would be my main activity here and that a sleeping bag might be needed for hikes lasting several days 🙄 Well, whatever, we love shopping, that's why First we went to the nearest mall and I stocked up. Now I have a pair of cool hiking boots from NZ:D:

I started the second day in the swimming pool, because when you travel for a year you still have to do regular exercise. It was also really funny because I only noticed after half an hour that traffic on the left also applies in the swimming lanes here 😵‍💫😵‍💫 The woman in my lane was super confused at first as to why I was swimming on the right side hahahaah. Afterwards I was at the harbor with Elena and we ate fish and chips (treat ourselves) and sunbathed and chatted. It's finally getting nice and warm here, at the moment it's always around 20 degrees and with the sun it's really hot. The shorts were also whipped out for the first time! Afterwards Aner showed me the videos of his drone that he made on the road trip, you can look forward to them at some point😂 They turned out really cool.

The next day we continued to Rotorua (Stinkytown), which is known for its geothermal springs and the stinky smell of sulfur. There in the hostel there were almost exclusively 18-year-old Germans, which I wasn't that enthusiastic about at first, which is why I didn't socialize with them that much :) I then took a trip to the bubbling craters, which glow colorfully due to various minerals, reflections, etc. ( I didn't read it that carefully 😃). That was definitely cool to see, but it didn't blow me away either. In the evening I met a funny Italian guy in the hostel with whom I wanted to hike to 'Blue Lake' the next day. Then an Austrian woman offered to drive us to the lake and then walk around it together, it's that easy to find a car! I was also really happy to get away from the constant smell and jump into the cold water😍 The Italian is such an eternal traveler and has lived everywhere and gave me a lot of cool tips for Indonesia, in general the day was super fun, even though The lake now looked no different than the Krumme Lanke (except for a few palm trees)🌴

Today we continue to Taupō, where there is the huge, crystal-clear Lake Taupo, which is said to be larger than Singapore! See you next week🫶🏼