Monday, January 17, 2005
Mr Spock rocks the windsurfers
Well, here I am in Taupo, next to the lake (which is beautiful. The water is so amazingly clear. You can see every stone and pebble on the lakebed. Gosh).
There are three mountains in the distance - Mt Ruapehu, Mt Tangariro and Mt I can't remember its' name, but it's an active volcano. Unfortunately, it's not very clear today, so you can only just make them out amongst the clouds. But that's okay, because on the bus ride here we drove towards, alongside and around them all, and I got to ogle Ruapehu to my heart's content. I still haven't gotten a decent photo of her, but hey. It's never going to do her justice.
Taupo is...okay. Not what I was expecting. It's very much a watersports based town, and you know how keen I am on watersports (get your mind out of the gutter). The hostel is full of bronzed, buff, barely clad beach bum type backpackers. They are completely terrifying. I in no way whatsoever fit in.
So I'm running away tomorrow morning to go to Ruapehu - I'm pretty sure what to expect, and am quite looking forward to staying in the quiet YHA there and doing incredibly tourist-y things.
Yesterday was the fucking hottest day of all time. Okay, it was ranging between 27 and 30 degrees (and, as everyone keeps saying to me: "You're Australian, you should be used to that!!" And I just as invariably reply: "I may be used to it, but I don't like it."), which doesn't really qualify it as hottest day of all time - but close!!
I walked down to Palmerston North's famed Rose Garden in the late morning, and discovered the really beautiful section of the town. The Rose Garden was astonishing and lovely and full of cute birds (the sparrows were practically crawling into my lap demanding food whilst I was having my picnic) and, of course, amazing roses. Took lots of photos (who would have thunk that I would be taking photos of roses. Life is strange), and discovered a little walk that took my through some foresty/bush bits (what does one call it in New Zealand? "Trees and stuff"?) to the river. Dutifully took some photos, and then realised that I was running a leetle late for the picking up of my pack and getting to the bus station.
So I booked it back to the backpackers. I made it back in under half an hour, and on my way there it had taken me close to an hour. It was in the hottest part of the day and I was literally dripping sweat when I got to the front door of the backpackers. The owner suggested, very kindly (considering I had booked out), that I have a cool shower and get changed. Which I did (and she even gave me a towel, so that I didn't have to reuse my damp one!!), and then she drove me to the bus station, so that I wouldn't waste the benefits of having a shower.
People here (and I'm sure I'll say this an awful lot) are really quite lovely.
I went on a guided tour today (and felt slightly like I was betraying whatever backpacker cred I may have gathered) to various Taupo sights. Went to the Huka Falls (gorgeous), the Craters of the Moon (very strange and steamy and much richer in vegetation than I had expected) and another sight whose title escapes me and I can't be arsed finding it out in my Lonely Planet book because that would mean thinking. Okay, okay, I'll look it up. It's the Aratiatia Rapids, and they're very cool. Took stupid numbers of photos (I think I'm going to have to mortgage the cats to pay the printing of them off when I get back). Lots of fun, actually. Then had lunch in the park and went to the Taupo Art Gallery and Museum, and the Rose Garden (this is a strangely 19th century English tradition that seems to have taken hold here).
That was a much more "What I did on my summer holidays" post than I meant it to be. But I have run out of superlatives and am very tired now. It's really warm again today, and I have a runny nose and sore throat, which I am battling by ignoring them completely, but may go back to the hostel now and try to get my washing done and then have a nap.
I'm sure you're all very excited by that.
Anyway, am strangely looking forward to getting to Rotorua, the tourist mecca of the North Island. Should be a laugh, if nothing else.
There are three mountains in the distance - Mt Ruapehu, Mt Tangariro and Mt I can't remember its' name, but it's an active volcano. Unfortunately, it's not very clear today, so you can only just make them out amongst the clouds. But that's okay, because on the bus ride here we drove towards, alongside and around them all, and I got to ogle Ruapehu to my heart's content. I still haven't gotten a decent photo of her, but hey. It's never going to do her justice.
Taupo is...okay. Not what I was expecting. It's very much a watersports based town, and you know how keen I am on watersports (get your mind out of the gutter). The hostel is full of bronzed, buff, barely clad beach bum type backpackers. They are completely terrifying. I in no way whatsoever fit in.
So I'm running away tomorrow morning to go to Ruapehu - I'm pretty sure what to expect, and am quite looking forward to staying in the quiet YHA there and doing incredibly tourist-y things.
Yesterday was the fucking hottest day of all time. Okay, it was ranging between 27 and 30 degrees (and, as everyone keeps saying to me: "You're Australian, you should be used to that!!" And I just as invariably reply: "I may be used to it, but I don't like it."), which doesn't really qualify it as hottest day of all time - but close!!
I walked down to Palmerston North's famed Rose Garden in the late morning, and discovered the really beautiful section of the town. The Rose Garden was astonishing and lovely and full of cute birds (the sparrows were practically crawling into my lap demanding food whilst I was having my picnic) and, of course, amazing roses. Took lots of photos (who would have thunk that I would be taking photos of roses. Life is strange), and discovered a little walk that took my through some foresty/bush bits (what does one call it in New Zealand? "Trees and stuff"?) to the river. Dutifully took some photos, and then realised that I was running a leetle late for the picking up of my pack and getting to the bus station.
So I booked it back to the backpackers. I made it back in under half an hour, and on my way there it had taken me close to an hour. It was in the hottest part of the day and I was literally dripping sweat when I got to the front door of the backpackers. The owner suggested, very kindly (considering I had booked out), that I have a cool shower and get changed. Which I did (and she even gave me a towel, so that I didn't have to reuse my damp one!!), and then she drove me to the bus station, so that I wouldn't waste the benefits of having a shower.
People here (and I'm sure I'll say this an awful lot) are really quite lovely.
I went on a guided tour today (and felt slightly like I was betraying whatever backpacker cred I may have gathered) to various Taupo sights. Went to the Huka Falls (gorgeous), the Craters of the Moon (very strange and steamy and much richer in vegetation than I had expected) and another sight whose title escapes me and I can't be arsed finding it out in my Lonely Planet book because that would mean thinking. Okay, okay, I'll look it up. It's the Aratiatia Rapids, and they're very cool. Took stupid numbers of photos (I think I'm going to have to mortgage the cats to pay the printing of them off when I get back). Lots of fun, actually. Then had lunch in the park and went to the Taupo Art Gallery and Museum, and the Rose Garden (this is a strangely 19th century English tradition that seems to have taken hold here).
That was a much more "What I did on my summer holidays" post than I meant it to be. But I have run out of superlatives and am very tired now. It's really warm again today, and I have a runny nose and sore throat, which I am battling by ignoring them completely, but may go back to the hostel now and try to get my washing done and then have a nap.
I'm sure you're all very excited by that.
Anyway, am strangely looking forward to getting to Rotorua, the tourist mecca of the North Island. Should be a laugh, if nothing else.
