Out Of Range: Smell of rotten eggs and the great hiking trip

After Coromandel Peninsula it was time to return our rental car in Auckland and to say goodbye to Simon. For him it was time to fly back to Germany. Marco and me took the bus to Rotorua, quite a big town for New Zealand. It is a volcanic area with lakes and a lot of geothermal springs. The first thing you notice when coming to Rotorua is the smell of rotten eggs that comes from the presence of minerals. However, you get used to it and it's bearable when it is not too strong. In Rotorua we were hiking in the Redwoods forest which is famous for its many mountain bike trails. It is said to be the best place for mountain biking in the southern hemisphere. So we hired some bikes a few days later. Unfortunately, this day was a pain in the ass! The tires of the bikes were worn down so we had almost no grip on the tracks and it was quite dangerous to go on the intermediate trails. We decided to ride to a lake in the forest. On our way back however, my rear tire got a puncture in the middle of nowhere and so I had to wheel the bike all the way out to the forest to a bike shop where it got fixed. Not a good day to remember. Anyway, the other days were quite good. On one day we visited the thermal wonderland with a lot of different thermal pools and springs. It looks really amazing! Besides that, we mainly relaxed in the nearby park and we strolled around the city and the Government Gardens with Kelvin, a guy from Hongkong who stayed in the same room. It was nice to stay a couple days more at the same place as we had no more than 3 or 4 days at one place since mid-December.

Redwoods Forest

MTB trail

Thermal Wonderland

Rotorua Museum in Government Gardens

lake in Redwoods Forest

view onto the city

On Saturday it was time for Marco to return to Auckland in order to catch his flight 2 days after. Again, it was time to say goodbye and for me it was time to travel on my own from now on. It is kind of scary at first as I have never travelled alone for so long but so many people are doing the same here so there is no need to worry about really being alone.
So, I went the other way and catched a bus to Taupo, a nice town a bit southwards. There, I met Kelvin again, who was coincidentally staying at the same hostel as me. The world is so small! On the same day, we walked to the Huka Falls which was a nice walking trail. And we booked a shuttle to Tongariro National Park, where we did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the next day.
That's why it was time to wake up at 4:30 at the next morning. Gosh, was that early! At breakfast, we met Eilidh from Edinburgh who joined us on the big hike. It was a very exhausting walk that took about 8 hours, including some small breaks. The reward was stunning views all over. There were a bit too many people for my liking though.
Today, I was on a sailing boat trip to the Maori rock carvings that are only accessible by boat. It was a nice boat trip. The operator was a fun guy who told some good stories and jokes.
Tomorrow the journey continue. Next stop: Whanganui

Waikato River