Moving on to today!
I had an early morning in Auckland and headed out for an exciting day of
adventures on my round-about way to Rotarua. The morning on the bus had me
convinced that my driver and I were the only ones on the bus who knew English,
but I learned a lot about NZ's economy and trade from him - interesting! Our
first stop was at Waitomo caves, aka glow worm central!! The caves were neat,
but even better than the mighty stalactites were the worms which lit up the sky
of the cave just similarly to star constellations. As we went on a boat float
through the caves, the worms, lit up to attract food, gave us quite a display
of pale blue lights, and if I didn't feel very inclined to keep two feet firmly
in the boat, their lights might have gotten me! Sorry, no pictures were
allowed. Next we cruised onto somewhere I'm sure you've seen, so its not too
special, so normal it's probably a hobbit for you to picture it… HOBBITON!!!!!
(yeah, pretty special:P) We had perfect, sunshiny Shire weather and the set was
sooo detailed and real it was unbelievable. Everything from the squashes and
gourds in the baskets, to the real gardens, to the fake trees was unreal. Our guide shared stories of the
making of the movie with us, what was real (40 hobbit holes and almost
everything around them) and what was fake (the tree above Bag End, the lichen
(yogurt, paint and sawdust), and not much else). The movies used lots of
perspective to make little things look little and big things look big, so there
were miniature hobbit holes, and grown-up sized ones. So cool!!!! After a great
tour and a relaxing break at the green dragon, we hit the road through rolling
hills and many sheep to Rotarua - geothermal capital of NZ!
Have I mentioned how
much I enjoy staying in hostels and travelling as a solo backpacker? If not,
the answer's a lot!! To date I have been staying in hostels, and while
sometimes they aren't the most luxurious of accommodations and your bed breaks
when you roll over, etc., the benefits make up for it. I have met so many neat
people around hostels as roommates, fellow cooks, etc.. Also surprising to me
is who I see in hostels - people of all nationalities, languages, and fashions
but more interestingly, age - so many people much older than I would have
expected! Sometimes I wonder what this experience would be like if my fellow
hostiles and I didn't have internet connections around the world to entertain
ourselves in evenings, but as I get to keep in touch with all you lovely folks,
I'm not complaining. Travelling solo also helps with meeting others as, if I
don’t want to spend all day thinking loudly at myself, I have to meet others.
Gems I've met so far include my lovely travel buddy Erika, a Pilates dance
trainer for Cirque de Solei and Stomp, a 50yr old cracker-jack triathlete
climbing mountains, an engineer who quit his job to travel, an Auckland
University administrator, Kiwis seeing the sights of their beautiful country,
Auzzies visiting the neighbours, people on journeys literally around the world,
others who've spent time 'woofing' around New Zealand, and more. The
conversations we've had for hours on transit and in evenings have been
highlights of my trip so far. We all share stories about our times in New
Zealand, our impressions and our comparisons to home - so cool! Whether we
connect over an awkward smile lugging our backpacks, or a shared seat on the
bus, people, especially solo travellers are always eager to talk, and I love
it!
Home sweet home!
Green Dragon
Bag End, nough said
I SAW THISSSS. :)
