North Island Log.
(April 18)I arrived in Wellington yesterday. There was a fella strumming (and picking!) a 12 string on the ferry over and he asked me could I sing. He had better chords for "A Pair of Brown Eyes" than me. We almost kept going for the full three hour trip except for the cold and the fact that I was driving. Couldn't get the tambourine from the lower decks while we were at sea. The Abel Tasman track was magical but I'm happy to eating something other than 2 minute noodles, chocolate and fruit and nut mix. I think I went a bit overboard on the high energy food. I got some charitable donations of bread and cheese and crackers from a German who was finishing up. There was near disaster on the third night when I got my lower lip busted open by a rogue frisbee. Actually it was more of a rogue catch attempt. I was more used to the faster moving (and lighter) Aerobee, jumped, mistimed my catch and boom. Luckily no stitches required. Had to get up at 06:30 the next morning to cross an estuary before the tide came in. A great trip and well worth doing solo so you can stop wherever and for as long as you like (which is the beauty of travelling solo, along with not having to make mindless chitchat, which I save for the website). The start date for the job is still anybody's guess. I have to do a medical tomorrow morning. I was considering checking into a hostel (which I did in Nelson the first night after the track, it was a tough decision) until I discovered there's a pool on Oriental Parade where I'm camping that opens at 6. That'll do nicely. The longer the work permit takes, the more travelling I get to do. Nice one...
(April 24) I'm in Hastings. I left Wellington yesterday after getting the results of the medical I needed to get the work permit. I passed of course. The current delay is getting the police certification from Ireland. I was on the verge of going to the cinema for a fifth consecutive day when I bumped into Keelin (who travelled with us from Melbourne to Adelaide) in a backpackers as I was sneaking in to do my laundry. I thought she was on the South Island, she thought I was in Auckland. I pursuaded here to stay on for an extra day, which makes perfect sense cos Wellington (my favourite city of my travels so far?) seems to be a nicer place than Auckland. The cafes and cinemas are certainly better and it has a reputation for being moer cultured, maybe I've been hanging round the business area of Auckland or something. I certainly haven't written it off yet as many Kiwis have. Met a couple of Irish lads on Saturday fishing in Oriental Bay where I parked my van for the few days. Within half an hour (at the Reggae Xplosion exhibition at Te Papa) met the Danish girls we'd met at Franz Josef (Marie & Lina, went for drinks with them), met a German girl I'd met on the Abel Tasman (avoided). Meeting people is much more of an event when you're travelling solo. It was nice to spend a few days in Wellingtion and I'm all set for the road again now. Ian is well ahead of me and Brian is flying out tomorrow as far as I know. I'm eying up another tramp, I won't even attempt to spell the name of it. Details to be announced soon (when I've a Lonely P in front of me).
(April 30) I'm thawing out after the first frosty night. Thankfully it's a glorious sunny day here in Rotorua. After Hastings I went to Napier and checked out the groovy art deco buildings and camped on land that wasn't there 70 years ago. Then I went to Lake Waikeremoana and did the great walk there and got soaked in my torn poncho and Gola runners, the amateur tramper. There was no sandal wearing this time round as the ground was very boggy. I did improve on the food though and it was only 2.5 days of walking. Now it's time to chill out again. The earliest I'll be starting work will be 2 weeks and it could be up to 4...
(May 5)I'm back in Taupo. I've been focusing on doing as little as possible these past few days. I rang about 10 campsites in Rotorua a few days enquiring whether they had Sky Sports so I could watch the Man U vs Leverkusen second leg. I had stumbled across one the previous week in Napier (thumbs up Kennedy Park). None to be had. So I resorted to staying in a hostel that had a bar next door with Sky and a receptionist who would open the bar at 07:00 for the match. She managed to open the bar OK but was unable to get any channel working on the telly not to mention Sky so she left a message with a bloke who was supposed to know, who called back giving dodgy instrucions so I had to drive around Rotorua looking for somewhere open at 07:45 with Sky (thumbs down Hot Rocks Backpackers). I was advised to go to the Novotel hotel and the concierge directed me to the Health Club section where there was a TV with Sky. What I didn't realise was that it was in the Gym, so I ended up watching the second half sitting on a rowing machine with a woman next to me on a treadmill for the duration. Luckily noone wanted to use the rowing machine. I had a similar episode this morning trying to watch a replay of the FA Cup Final - phonecall to supposedly knowledgeable male staff member - ultimate failure to activate big screen. I hit the jackpot though when I found a bar that offered free coffee and crackers to the Pokie players where I was encouraged to help myself (thumbs up The Red Barrel) It wasn't a great first half anyway. I'm going to do the Tongariro Crossing tomorrow - touted as the finest one day walk in New Zealand. I don't really fancy doing the Tongariro Northern Circuit (a Great Walk that takes 3 or 4 days) after my saturation in Waikaremoana. Investing in proper rain gear would be in breach of my only-buy-it-if-it's-absolutely-necessary policy. Saw some really cool thermal activity in Orakei Korako (The Hidden Valley) yesterday. There was a pool in a cave where the Maori women used to use as a mirror to doll themselves up over. You were supposed to dip your left hand in and make a wish. I got togged off and had a bath. The temperature was perfect. No other tourists turned up though cos it was early morning. The day before I visited the Maori Thermal Village in Whakarewarewa - the thermal stuff wasn't as impressive and it was a bit touristy.
(May 19) I'm starting the job on Wednesday and I'm hoping to secure a room any minute now. Since Taupo I've tramped over extinct volcano craters at the Tongariro Crossing, marvelled at the Glow-worms at the Waitomo cave, herded cattle on my cousins farm in Waikato, explored the Coromandel Peninsula and relaxed in a pool of thermally heated water on Hot Water Beach. I'm hoping to move in with a couple on the North Shore who have Sky and will definitely be watching the World Cup. Second choice are two lads in Ponsonby, one of whom is going to set up a music room for playing guitar and drums. There are many varieties of accomodation around but getting the ferry across the harbour to and from work is swinging it for me especially from what I'm hearing about Auckland's traffic problem.
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