Mushroom

Auckland is New Zealand’s largest city and about one third of the population inhabits this area of NZ. We stayed at Fat Camel Hostel right in the ‘central business district’ (CBD) of Auckland. This area is quite seedy. There are lovely strip joints and crazy beggars around for the pleasure. Fat Camel was luxurious compared to our last joint in Tassie. We got a cheap meal (Spaghetti Bolgnese and a beer) and chatted with a friendly Irishman. He actually asked me where in Ireland I was from. He he he. I enjoy when people mistake my accent for an Irish one.

We landed on Friday evening and Saturday evening we were headed in our ‘mushroom mobile’ north. We rented our campervan from Escape Campervan rentals. Maya was an extremely helpful and knowledgeable lady that worked in their office. She rules. She actually has been to St. Louis ~ she loves it. (Of course, who couldn’t love St. Louis? It’s a fantastic place after all.)

Ok, back to the shroom. It’s called the shroom because it’s spray painted with mushrooms. It’s got a very hippie look to it. All of the campervans are painted differently by the Escape Artists. (Well, that’s what Maya says and we have yet to see another campervan like ours. The other companies that rent campervans are totally undecorated ones and do look quite boring. Ours looks like a fun mobile.) While I would have jived and picked another theme for our campervan, I can’t complain too much about our lil van. We’ve got a radio that works well (but doesn’t have a connection for our iPods!), heat, fully equipped kitchen for cooking, a little pump for water with a sink, and a decent enough bed. The shroom rents for $39 NZD/night and we have to pay for gas. Thus, it’s a very economical way to see New Zealand. We buy our food as we go, but it is always simple food. For breakfast, we typically have some combination of bread, fruit, breakfast bar, and maybe if I’m lucky cheerios (we aren’t always nearby somewhere to get milk). Lunch is always a sandwich of some sort ~ Mikey loves peanut butter and so do I. We buy can goods that are easy to re-heat for dinner. Since it is winter in NZ (cold, dark, and rainy), if we are free camping, we are less likely to actually cook dinner.

[Free camping: I mean that we just pull off somewhere on the side of the road and park it for the night. There are camp grounds and hostels throughout NZ, but we are thrifty travelers and only occasionally pay for the facilities to use. It’s when we are really grubby and need a shower, etc.]

The freedom of the campervan is so wonderful. We just drive where ever we’d like, on whatever schedule we’d like to get there. Mike and I are like speedy Gonzalez travelers. We hit the big things and cruise right on to the next thing. So Saturday evening we rented the shroom and were on our way to the Bay of Islands. On our way north, we stopped into go to the bathroom at Hundertwasser’s famous public bathrooms. They are the most photographed bathrooms in New Zealand according to Lonely Planet. Friedensreich Hundertwasser was an Austrian eco-architect. He lived in Kawakawa (the town where the famous bathrooms are) in an isolated house without electricity from 1973 until he died in 2000. The bathrooms were closed. Boo.

Maya had told us that the All Blacks (NZ’s rugby team) were playing that night at 1 am vs. South Africa and that it was the first match in the America’s Cup (which is NZ vs. a Swiss ship). So we headed to the pub after we arrived in Piahia, Bay of Islands and got the van set up AKA arranged the sleeper-bed in the rear of the van. The pub had a decent sized screen and Mike and I enjoy a beer and the game. The All Blacks ended up winning, but we were too exhausted to stay until the end. Luckily it was just a short walk to the van and then to sleep.

Calling All Convicts ...

As you may remember from your history classes, (or perhaps not at all?) Australia was founded on the backs of convicts that were transported there in the early days of settlements. Life was harsh in the early days of settling and the convicts had it especially rough. It depended a lot on luck how your arrival in Australia went. You could be as young as 9 and be transported to Australia. Imagine stealing some food (because you’re near starving) and ending up being sent ½ way across the world. The life of crime is really the only thing you will grow up knowing.

Tasmania used to be called Van Damien’s Land originally and was where the really bad guys were sent. Adventuring around in Van Damien’s land was not a pleasant place to be at all. If you re-offended AKA were found guilty of a second crime after you’d already been transported to Australia, you were sent to a prison in “Van Damien’s Land.” Boo. Hiss. Boo. Port Arthur was one of many prison complex that developed throughout Tasmania … (and Australia for that matter… all these crazy convicts running around!).

Port Arthur, is of course, haunted. While we didn’t end up hitting Port Arthur at the right time of evening to go on a ghost tour, we were able to walk through some of the haunting buildings that make up the prison complex. The ruins are remarkably well preserved. According to our extremely well-informed and researched guide, when they finally closed the prison, the government just packed up all the stuff and people and left. They wanted to forget about this place of misery. It became an instant tourist attraction, so the government tried to destroy it by lighting a fire or two nearby. Despite this, or perhaps because of the $20 admission price that goes directly into the maintenance of the park, the ruins are well-preserved and provide for a stimulating walk.

After another enjoyable day cruising around in comfort in Tassie, Mike and I returned to our frigid hostel for the night. The power went out in the evening just for the fun of it. Yeah. We went to bed early, but that’s okay. Rising before the sun is the way of the budget traveler. We are pressed for time and money. In our case, Mike and I booked three early morning flights within Australia in order to gain the most economical seats. To catch the shuttle to the Hobart airport, we had to catch a 5:15 am bus/shuttle service. Joy.

The Hobart airport is tinsey-tiny. They have a total of 3 airlines that operate in and out of Hobart and one small terminal. While we boarded the plane in Melbourne by walking down those usual hallways, we both boarded and exited the plane in Hobart by walking on the jetway. There were actually boys filming this part of the trip at 6:30 am. I haven’t a clue why, but they seemed like an odd bunch.

A hop, skip, and two plane rides later,… Mike and I arrived into Auckland International Airport. It was my third time in this lil’ airport.

Rotten Eggs Rotorua

After a lovely night's rest at the backpackers, we woke up to lovely and continuous rain in Rotorua. Rotorua has 2 or 3 geothermal parks around, and we opted for the free one. We saw steamy lakes and some bubbling mud. It was sort of so-so and a bit underwhelming. On top of that, the whole town smells of rotten eggs (due to the sulfur).

We cruised a bit more and found a Salvos ~ a salvation army ~ Mike and I love stopping in and finding random and funky things. After our simple sandwiches for lunch, we went over to the Rotorua Museum. It is in an old bathhouse. It was a very well-designed and informative museum. We joined the 4 pm tour and our tour guide filled us with information about the town, the history of the healing baths, the volcanic activity in the area, and the Maori culture that is so prominent in this area.

Next up was the Polynesian Spa. We all climbed into naturally heated hot mineral water pools. The first one, aka the cold one is 38 degrees Celsius. The warmer pools overlook Lake Rotorua. We hopped between four or five different pools in differing degrees of hotness. They say that the mineral water is full of healing powers and it was extremely relaxing. Nicole and I were about ready to nod off for a nap.

After dinner, we headed to an Irish Pub for the All Blacks vs. the Wallabies in the tri-nations rugby. (It's a rugby tourney between NZ, Australia, and South Africa.) We were sharing our dorm with 2 Scottish girls and so the 5 of us shared a table and watched the game. To my sadness, the All Blacks fell to the Wallabies in the 2nd half.

While we'd heard Rotorua was so exciting you could spend 2 days there, we were all set with moving on and after awaking at a normal hour (9 am) we checked out and headed to Lake Taupo....

Rap, Raft N Rock with Gloworms! :)

Waitomo is a tiny little town that is well worth the stop-off to see the caves. We let Nicole choose between Waitomo and Rotorura for her 25th birthday. Our trio went with the 'budget' option, a company called Rap, Raft, N Rock. For $125 NZD we were able to get a taste of everything. Our small group departed at about 9 am. Besides the three of us, we had Alex (a kid from the UK) and a Swedish couple ~ Sara and Oscar. Tim, an Aussie, was our tour guide and comedian for the trip through the caves. [He's been doing it for 7 months now and was superb.]

After signing the release, we piled into the van. We drove to a little shed and got suited up. We received wet suits, jackets, boots, helmets with lights, battery packs, and the ever-so-important harness. Tim carefully and patiently explained the info we needed on abseiling into the cave. After passing our practice test, we lined up and took turns abseiling down about 30 meters into a cave. Abseiling was really cool. They strap you in very safely and you end up down in a cave with gushing water floating by.

After our abseil, we took off the harnesses to prepare for our caving experience. Tim gave us gloves for our cold fingers (remember: it's winter down here in NZ) and innertubes. We forged our way upstream with our headlights helping us to guide our way in the cave. When we reached the right point, Tim had us turn our lights off and sit down. There we took in the wonder of the glowworms. The glowworms are ancient little buggers and they make the inside of the cave look a bit like a starry night. It was amazing to just sit under them and see them at work. They use the light to catch insects to eat. Still in darkness, we got onto our innertubes and floated downstream.

Passing the cavern opening where we abseiled downward, we continued with the stream and climbed through a waterfall and enjoyed more glowworms. After we'd gone a long ways, we climbed off to the side and were given our snack ~ hot Gatorade and Cadbury chocolate. I love chocolate and the hot Gatorade was actually really yummy.

Having drifted way downstream, we had to make our way back upstream to climb out of the cave. We started the walk with our lights, but after a certain point we formed a line and turned our lights off so we could enjoy the glowworms again. It was an amazingly fun experience. When we finally made it back to the cavern, we each took our turn climbing the rocks out of the cavern.

When we arrived back at the shed, we had the treat of a hot shower (something that Mike and I have rarely since we typically pull off the road and sleep in the camper van which equals no shower) and some hot tomato soup. Typically, I hate tomato soup but I was hungry and a bit cold, so I slurped it down. A very memorable experience.

We headed from Waitomo to Rotorura, a geothermal playground. We arrived and decided since it was Nicole's birthday, we'd upgrade to staying a backpacker's hostel for the night. Rotorua Central Backpackers was pretty cheap and very nice. It had a hot tub out back, was nicely heated, and we all had a separate & real bed. (Most times, hostels have bunks and not the full mattress and box springs.) It was fantastic luxury for us budget travelers.