G’day again!

I was still in Rotorua. Have you ever dreamed to go in a huge inflatable ball? And make it even better to put some water in and rolling downhill? Yes, that was what I did. I have done three different tracks, all really good. In the afternoon I went for the Luge. You go up hill with a gondola. You get your Go Kart and the only things you have to do are steering and use the brake if necessary. You get your speed because you’re going off hill quite fast. Three different tracks as well, and the advanced track was the best’. Everyone compares it with Mario Kart, and for the ones who knows me.. I had a lot of fun!

The next day I thought it was a great day to relax instead of being busy, so I booked Hells Gate (a thermal spa). I don’t want to be too lazy so I started with a walk from approximately 30 minutes trough the volcanic park. Once in the spa I covered myself with mud in the mud bad and left it on me for 20 minutes. Continued with two other spa’s, totally relaxed for the rest of the day. It was great!

I left Rotorua that morning and drove to Lake Aniwhenua, a town where another Maori Tribe lives. We played some traditionally Maori games, I learned the Haka and made my own bracelet from leaves. After that we had our dinner: the Maori Hangi, which means they steamed our food in a pit with a large fire in the ground. Awesome that Stray offers this place in their itinerary, to learn more about the Maori Culture!

After Lake Aniwhenua we went to a place called, Blue Duck Station. That’s probably why Stray has the slogan: Further off the beaten track. It was literally in the middle of nowhere, no cell phone service and the Wi-Fi way to expensive. Before we arrived there we had a stop at Haka Falls, this was the roughest waterfall of the country and it was hell blue. Nice spot!

In the morning I started with a Bush-Safari (4WD). Amazing to drive off road in the nature and learn more about the Blue Duck, his behavior and living area. The second activity was horseback riding, not really the matter of course for me. But I heard such good things about it, so I had to try it myself. My horse was Ben and he was perfect. He was a good listener and really relaxed. What a good afternoon was this. I just sat in the saddle and could enjoy every amazing view we went in the mountains. And to finish my day I tried some shooting, clay pigeon shooting to be exact. I managed to hit 5 out of 10, not to bad for the first time. The kickback of the gun was pretty intense though.

On day 20of the trip there was an activity scheduled, I was looking forward to for a really long time: The Tongariro Alphine Crossing. A hike from approximately 20 kilometers with stairs, uphill, downhill but overall the best views I have ever seen in my life! It was tough, because I am not use od to do hikes this long and tough like this. But it was totally worth it. So many different views, sometimes I couldn’t even believe my eyes. Wauw, wauw, wauw! In the beginning of the evening I could feel the tiredness of my body already.

On the last day of week three we had to drive a lot. We drove from Raetihi to Wellington. We had a couple of stops in between, but nothing too special. At the end of the day we arrived in Wellington where we had our free dinner. Free dinner? Yes, yes.. of course I took that offer, I am a backpacker.

Thanks again, I hope you enjoyed and see you tomorrow. Xxx Kirsten!