Tag: Taupo

39. Taupo – Rotorua

Tuesday, March 19: Cloudy in the morning, becoming sunny & warm

Funky Green Voyager, 4 Union St, various single rooms, $50

Was up just before the alarm, and Donna was already gone, although Steve seemed to still be around, and moved his car in the driveway. I had the usual breakfast, washed the dishes, decided I had enough time for a shave, and then the rest of the stuff was thrown into the suitcase.

Ready to go @ 9:30, passed one bus driver moving today’s bus to its departure position. Long wait for the buses, and there were three in total, one to Auckland, one to Wellington, and our small one to Rotorua. In the end the bus was full, and the bus driver was about fifteen minutes behind schedule. Anyway the trip was not particularly long, and we were soon in Rotorua and the long trek back down the main road could begin. Was greeted here by Essex and shown my first room (Astrid). Read more…

38. Taupo: Acacia Bay

Monday, March 18: Overcast to begin with, becoming fine, hot & sunny with some active looking cumulus clouds

Cycling: 17.8 km

Donna’s

Today was a day for planning the rest of the trip and trying to get the rest of the planning to set. After a shower and a breakfast of cornflakes & muesli, toast with the last of the tramping butter, OJ, and coffee, I set to work to try to confirm the reservation in Rotorua, and then to see how to get from there to the Far North.

Flights were still available for around $300 – slightly above that if you wanted only an hour’s wait in Auckland, slightly below if a four hour wait was OK. Considering it was the very last minute (and the Saturday was cheaper than the surrounding days) I wonder what it would have cost if I had tried a week ago – as I should have. In any case a 6:45 departure would have meant getting up @ 5:00, and I still would have needed transport to Paihia from Bay of Islands airport, so at this point in time the bus was the last acceptable solution in terms of price v. duration @ $84 – start is @ 7:45, arrival is 17:15. This is @ the limit of decidability. Read more…

37. Taupo: Huka Falls – Aratiatia Rapids

Sunday, March 17: fine, warm, variable cloud

Tramping: 27.8 km

Donna’s

The alarm hadn’t been turned off so I was awake at 6:30, but was able to snooze for an hour or so. The next challenge was breakfast, managed to get everything together except for the toaster, so had a fried muffin instead of a toasted one.

Then a couple of slices of bread were prepared as sandwiches for the walk today, and with all the equipment on board (except for the PLB) I set off for the Aratiatia Rapids. Bit of a walk along the street to begin with, then through the Spa Thermal Park where a disc golf tournament was just beginning and then to the river where there is a freebie hot stream complete with café, toilets and changing rooms. The river has quite a strong current and I thought it might be a nice idea to float down the river a bit, if only for the falls. Read more…

36. New Plymouth – Taupo

Saturday, March 16: Very cloudy to begin with, clearing to moderately cloudy by afternoon

Donna’s (airbnb, $53.8)

The alarm seemed to work OK, and I was the only one about the house (except for two cats who were in various stages of interaction). I managed to get a coffee and a couple of slices of toast with cheese on top for the improvised breakfast. Everything packed into the suitcase and backpack, with the supplementary pack almost empty, because the tent fit into the suitcase.

I was ready for my taxi by 7:20 and put my stuff out on the corner. One from another company passed by, then the bus that I was later to take and the driver and I saluted each other. Then @ 7:30 my ordered taxi. Read more…

30. New Plymouth: Pukekura Park

Sunday, March 10: Cooler and variably cloudy

Walking: 7.6 km

Paul’s

There was time for a little real shopping (bread, cheese, sausage – the latter two for the tramp) and some of the window variety (mainly to see whether a dollar shop had screw-capped 100 mL containers – have seen some by Sistema, but they appear very bulky) while waiting for the weather reports. Not going to be easy for the tramp, with showers or even heavier rain forecast.

Also started having a look at Taupo and found a place that looked quite nice. Will have to make a list for tonight so that I can see what needs to be done most urgently. Read more…

29. New Plymouth: Coastal Walkway

Saturday, March 9: Sunny but a little cool to being with

Hiking: 16.8 km

Paul’s

Breakfast was very laid back. My Japanese co-inhabitant, Taro, was off surfing very early and returned as I was finishing some toast.

After that some shopping had to be done (fruit, something to put on some sandwiches, and some lemonade), then a visit to the i-site revealed two shuttles that would take me up and (hopefully) back down the mountain. Taranaki Mountain Shuttle, whose website I had seen yesterday and which is an absolute disaster is unfortunately the one I had to choose. I say unfortunately because communication is not their forte, and the other company (Mountain Shuttle/Cruise NZ tours) also has a later option for the journey up. In the course of the day I managed to arrange with the the gent from TMS via facebook that I will be picked up @ 7:00 from the nearest street corner and will still have to try to determine when I might be back. Read more…

28. Whanganui – New Plymouth

Friday, March 8: Rain on and off throughout the day

Paul’s (airbnb, $37.6)

Made the acquaintance of Sid & Angela at breakfast this morning, and a discussion of criticality followed – he was an (Indian) epidemiologist in public health, and I never found out what she did, except that she plays the piano rather well, and the upright in the lounge room was in tune. They escaped rather quickly after that and I was left on my own with Marina & Brennagh.

Surprise, surprise was that Dempsey’s had refunded me the full $108 I was asking for. There is a real issue of getting email through to them, though, as mine was already labelled as spam. I deleted my remark on their facebook page and will leave it at that for a while. Read more…

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