Where I Wear My Moccasins Juggling the commitments of a student and dreams of a traveller.

Yet another bus ride! This time I went from the Hawke's Bay region to the center of the North Island and NZ's largest lake, Lake Taupo. As soon as I hopped off the bus, I booked a ride on the Ernest Kemp, a replica tugboat-like vessel. I saw the lush hills of the lakeshore and their colorful trees, the crisp clear water, one of Rod Stewart's houses, Maori rock carvings, skydivers off in the distance and a lone parasailor. There was a chill in the air, as it is usually on the water, but it seemed more so with the fringe of autumn beckoning. I reveled in the experience! During the return trip back to the docks, I talked with an elderly lady from England who was traveling on her own as well. I secretly thought, I wonder if I will end up like that! I found out from this journey that it can be quite lonely traveling for a week and a half alone. It was a great experience though, I met interesting people and learned more about myself. I think I would prefer to be alone on short trips as opposed to long ones! I stayed at the Berkenhoff Lodge in Taupo. There was the biggest cat I have ever seen there! His name was Benson, he was gray and very fluffy-maybe that accounted for some of his rotund nature. :) He was also the friendliest cat I have ever met. He fell asleep on my lap and about fifteen minutes later when I realized he wouldn't move without some help from me, I lifted him off (quite heavy too for a cat I might add) and plopped him back on the couch. I did quite a lot of hiking in Taupo as well. I hiked to Huka Falls, a rapids area on the Waikato River-amazing. I decided I wanted to go further ahead on the trail to the Aratiatia Dam. I misinterpreted the sign that said "2 hours." Thinking it meant roundtrip, I got one hour into the hike and realized it meant one way when there wasn't a dam in sight. I napped off frustration on a bench on the trail. I also nibbled on a sandwich I prepared that morning-that might have helped as well. When I returned to Huka Falls, I remembered there was a place called the Honey Hive nearby. It took me about 20 minutes to walk there. It was a store/apiary/bee & honey education centre. It also had ice cream. I bought two cones, one when I arrived and one for the road! I tried mead there for the first time. From my understanding its wine with honey, which makes it very sweet. I enjoyed it, especially the FREE tasting part. I would highly recommend this town!