One interesting stop on the Kiwi bus was Lake Mahinapua. We spent the night at the Lake Mahinapua Hotel own by the legendary Les Lisle. Les Lisle is 85 years old and still kicking! This hotel is nothing special it actually reminds me of those trashy motels we see on highway 11 back home. The fun of budget backpacking! Anyways we didn’t stop here for luxury, we were here to PARTY! This stop had one purpose only; Kiwi bus Theme Party. We had to come up with a theme as a group the day before and we came up with Rubbish Bag Party, cheap and easy.
Before the drinking and partying began we had a big feast cooked by Les himself and Lauren our bus driver. It was so yummy; steak, potatoes, pasta and salads. After that great meal we all went back to our room to get our costumes ready. I had been traveling with a few people during that week; Nitzan and Trisha from America and Timo from Germany. We decided to share a room that night and we all got ready together. We had such a good time getting our costume together.
With our costumes ready we headed to the famous Poo pub. I think the pub is as old as Les is. Hats and pictures were covering the walls and ceiling. It actually made the Empire Bar back home look good lol. The pictures covering every inch of the walls were from every theme party Les has ever hosted. It was really sweet to see. The party had already started so we got right into it. Everyone had been very creative with their costumes and we were all ready to have a good time.
We had an awesome night getting to know everyone a little more. The pub was closed to the public so it was only our group. We also had a small bus only 23 of us, which makes it a lot easier to get acquainted with everyone. As the night was coming to an end; half of the group went for a midnight swim and the other half went to bed. I was ready for bed; it was an early start the next day for Franz Josef. Guess what was waiting for us when we got to Franz Josef...you guessed it more rain!
