Thursday 26th June
I got up and saw that it was another grey, wet day hanging over Rotorua, just like it had done since I had arrived in New Zealand. Even though I had only left Auckland the day before, I still needed to get a few chores done, and so I spent the morning doing some laundry and bought some groceries at the supermarket.
I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in Rotorua, and one of the main problems was due to the fact that there are just too many options: zorbing (where you climb into a large inflatable ball and tumble down the side of a hill), rafting, skydiving, bungy jumping, and a whole host of other activities makes it a difficult task deciding just what to spend your money on.
I was a bit indecisive and not willing to just blow money on something without properly thinking about it. I had heard that the Redwood Forest on the outskirts of town was worth a visit – and was free – so took the bus out to the Whakarewarewa Forest and walked round one of the treks there for about an hour and a half. Thankfully, the rain kept off for that time, and the sun even peaked out through the clouds for a bit. I got a decent view of Lake Rotoura in the distance and it was a good, easy walk to pass the time.
I got back to the hostel and had dinner, and chilled out there for the rest of the evening. I took the opportunity to sit down with all of the information that I had gathered together and get a better grasp of what there was to do and see in NZ, and get a gauge on how much time I needed to do it all. I figured that a month on the South Island would be enough to do it justice, and I had just that. I worked for a bit on my journal, and got speaking to a girl called Miriam who was from Co. Meath and was over looking for work in NZ. She didn't seem too enthused about the place, or the whole travelling thing for that matter, and admitted that she'd prefer to head back home to Ireland and be done with it. It was a pity that she felt like this, but everyone is different, and I was just glad that I was enjoying myself so much and getting a lot out of my trip.
