Can't believe I have almost completed my trip in New Zealand! Time went by so quickly! From Taupo I headed about an hour north to Rotorua. We were supposed to get there in the morning but apparently our driver was down with food poisening ( too bad somebody saw him doing shots at 4am in the local bar) so we had to wait for a driver to come down all the way from Auckland. in the end it didnt matter that much because Rotorua is pretty much not exciting at all.. its famous for thermal activity and blubbing mud pools... but it did stink of sulpher
next day we were off to Auckland with a quick stop in Matamata where they filmed Hobbiton from Lord of the Rings..and then hit the big city. I was positively surprised by Auckland. i thought that I wouldn't like it at all. but first impressions were quite positive given that it is such a big city. reminded mea bit of big US cities. We had a wonder around town and treated ourselves to some lovely Japanese dinner. The next day (today) we left early heading to the BAy of Islands. the winterless part of NZ (in the very North of the North Island). unfortunately it is a bit cloudy so the views weren't as good. but at least it is nice and warm./ I took a boot trip to discover the 100+ islands which are in the Bay. We once again saw dolphins and a tiny winy baby one. adorable. These type of dolphins were massive though in comparison to the ones that I saw earlier during my trip. big papas. but simply beautiful animals. Sweet as...Just met my "roomate" for this evening.. an old Dutchman.. I guess around mind 70s... thats what you meet at YHA hostels a very diverse age group. Tomorrow I am doing a day trip to cape Reinga which is a spiritual place for the Maori people. Apparently that's where the souls of the dead leave the island. Unfortunately rain is forecasted but fingers crossed it will be sunny because then we go sand boarding. whoooooo hoooooo
