The Funky Chicken Bus Trip

That's the name of the ticket I bought from Kiwi Experience. So we headed for Whitianga first. A little lesson for yis, in the Maori language 'wh' is pronounced at an 'f', so just bear that in mind. This is a small town in the Bay of Plenty.It is also called Mercury Bay. Before we arrived however, we went for a walk to Cathedral Cove, which is one of the most picturesque places I have ever seen. It has crystal clear blue water, sea stacks and holes in rocks. To top it all the sun was beaming and it was just heavenly.

When we arrived in Whitianga we literally dropped our bags and went to do some bone carving, which was a funny experience. We all made necklaces from cow bone. The Maori's would have used Whale. It took roughly 2 hours and was a good laugh, but the carving smells like burning hair, so not for those with a weak constitution!

That night was possibly the coldest night I've ever spent anywhere that I had to pay for. The room we were in was like a shed and the roof leaked. I was wearing loads of clothes, a sleeping bag and a duvet and I was still freezing!!

We headed off bright and early the next morning on the road to Rotorua. We went to a gold mine first, which is still in operation. This was called Martha Mine. They take half a million dollars out of this mine every week!! Afterwards we went to see an old mine in the Karangahake Scenic Reserve and walked through a old mine tunnel which was 3km long and pitch dark - pretty scarey!


Next we stopped at Matamata, aka Hobbiton! Only stopped for half an hour for lunch, but it was long enough to say I've been there! That night we went to the Tamaki Maori village for dinner and entertainment. It was a brilliant night, full of culture and singing, but best of all, we got a full roast dinner, and it was lamb!!! Being typical backpackers we all went back for seconds and I actually had 4 desserts!!



Rotorua is a geothermal area and is full of geysers and hot springs. Hence it stinks to high heaven of sulphur! I really don't think that I could live there. The next morning we went to the Te Puia geothermal field and saw the Prince of Wales geyser, which is the largest in NZ. It can spurt steam and water up to 30metres in the air!

Then we were off to Waitomo on our rented bus as the Kiwi bus had broken down!! Our poor driver was having a really bad time of it. It was his first tour with Kiwi and on the first day he reversed into a car and earned the knickname of "Crunch". Next 2nd gear wouldn't work, then 2 days later he hit another car, the heating in the bus broke and then the steering went!! We eventually got a new bus in Waitomo.

We went on a long walk to the Ruakuri walkway the evening we arrived. We went through muddy fields which left us in mud up to our shins! 2 hours later we got there, just as it was getting dark and some people were not too happy and walking back in the pitch dark! It was funny though!