NZ10+ : Day 06 : AUCKLAND to WHITIANGA
I get on the Kiwi Express bus, leave the city of Auckland, and head to the coast for a much more relaxed day out with a super-chilled hostel experience.
Saturday 22/03/08
My bag feels heavy. Still, it is what it is. I got up early to re-pack it and move things about for easier access, in case I end up in a crazy-busy dorm room again. Waiting for breakfast and the coach now as I write this. Half a school-bus of Austrian school girls have turned up in the dining room and placed a big order. I hope waiting for my sausage butty does not make me late…
THE COACH:
Seems my already appalling handwriting will now only get worse! On the coach, and it seems okay. Our guide (Coru?) seems cool. He explained how it all works – you let them (Kiwi Express) book ahead for your accommodation, but you can choose your own route if you like, in terms of getting off the bus and staying on in a town for a bit, then getting a later bus with a different driver once you wanted to carry on again.
I’m gonna try a dorm-room again tonight, hopefully it’ll be with folk off of this coach and we won’t ever be mid-rave like in Auckland… I am worried about Queenstown (another city, and party capital) and so may go private, or at least to a quieter hostel once I get there. I also need to log-on and look
ahead for quieter hostels with secure lockers etc. in all of the other locations.
The bus stuff seems fairly easy, hopping on and off, but we were warned the South Islands are very busy and usually over crowded. Could do with burning some days up here on the North Island, perhaps to see Hobbiton at Matamata? Decisions! Still, part of it all I guess.
I am liking the relaxing coach trip part of all this thus far, got some tunes on. Without tempting fate, things are looking up. I will ring Hazel asap to let her know, I probably worried her when I rang yesterday morning. Seems like so long go already, but I was up at 6am, and it was a horrid day.
Oh well, onto Whitianga now, will decide if I want to pay $70 for a Jazz & Blues festival later. I didn’t opt for kayaking; don’t trust myself or my ability on a boat! Can’t keep thinking too much about cash though. Hoping I can do the horse-trekking at least. But weather good, things looking up!
(Writing Sunday 23rd)
Yesterday turned out to be good. But the massive Jazz & Blues festival in Whitianga, plus the holiday weekend, meant traffic was crazy and we missed a few things on the itinerary, such as digging our own hot pools at the beach. A few people took the kayaking option, the rest of us got taken to a ‘walk’ option for Ba-Ha beach (I think) or Cathedral Cove. I walked to the latter and it was gorgeous. A roasting half-hour walk, but still good fun. Took some top photographs, but in my Adidas trainers, I wasn’t quite ready for beach trekking, and at the last minute I typically managed to get my feet wet.
We then got driven to Whitianga, which looks like a flat American-style town. I did have a plan to go to the beach by myself to watch the sunset, but by the time I went to the supermarket and had dinner, I ended up chatting to people for the first time. Still getting used to smashing the social barrier, but the fact that the owners of the hostel made us all Spag-Bol to share probably helped.
The Hostel was great. Small and cosy, with a very homely and laid-back feel. Chilled on the patio with the three girls (never got names!) until about 11pm. The hostel even had a cat. This hostel experience was much better, and I felt okay leaving my bag in the room unattended.
Today (in Rotorua) looks set to be busy, and now that I have spoken to some people, my decision to stay at the YHA alone, rather than the Hotrock/Base with everyone else, could backfire. Think I have paid for a twin/single room anyhow. May not be necessary, but it is done now. I don’t mind being safe and paying the extra cash in the bigger towns and cities. Ho Hum!
SOUNDTRACK” “Here Comes The Sun” George Harrison.
COMMENTARY:
I have really fond memories of that first night on the bus. The smaller hostel had a much more family-run, countryside feel to it. It probably slept 20-30 people, but it didn’t seem that busy, even with a full busload of us. Perhaps most of the backpackers stayed out after the kayaking trip, or indeed at the festival, but I remember being really chilled out (the super-sleep evidently had done wonders) and just Relaxing with a capital R!
Because the Turtle Cove hostel was much smaller, and its back garden had a patio dining area, it felt much more natural and easy to just start chatting to people. As I say, spent most of the night just talking to three girls who had also decided to ‘stay-in’ and we just shared our collective stories of travelling, whilst enjoying great food and a little alcohol.
Thinking back now, this was my first night travelling when not in a big city, and so evidently the countryside nature of it all was a better fit for me! I was already mentally putting destinations into two categories; smaller countryside venues with YHA style hostels, versus bigger cities with student-esque/backpacker bars that dealt with large numbers and wilder party atmospheres. I had my fair share of both by the time the trip was over, but looking back now, the times spent in the smaller hostels such as this one in Whitianga bring back warm fuzzy memories of just being really content. Doesn’t seem like a big enough word, but in this day and age a little space for yourself does wonders.
All in all, this one day and night in Whitianga did wonders for resetting my confidence and sense of adventure, and provided me with my first real glimpse of the New Zealand I had travelled so far to see.
