Kiwi Traversing the North Island

Quick apology for the lack of updates. Life as a backpacker is rough enough as we tried to scrounge up food, yet alone have internet access. So... after making the decision to leave Auckland and head to Christchurch, we signed up to travel on the MagicBus ( a backpackers bus) to Christchurch. It turns out the MagicBus is not so magical because little did we know, it is a family tour bus, where fifty percent of the travellers were over 40 or non-English speakers. Although it wasn't the fun, party bus as promised by the brochure we still found a way to enjoy the sights. And by enjoy we mean do every free activity possible because we're saving up for our return trip to the North Island (when we actually make money to be spent). On our trip we managed to find free activities in Waitomo, Rotorua, Taupo, and Wellington. We're off to Christchurch tomorrow, and the real task begins- Find a home. Find a job. Eat. Enjoy the pictures of our frugal days, and send us emails filled with love. We promise to upload photo albums as soon as we can. Mwah!

In Waitomo- enough said.

Angus aka Bunnicula. Next on the chopping block

In Rotorua- the only city that smells like poo in NZ. We can thank the tons of geothermal activity, providing lots of hot springs, boiling mud and more making the whole city reek of sulfur.

We were actually enjoying the stinky city until Hurricane Katrina made an unexpected visit to Rotorua. We made the best of the weather and took shelter in a cafe, but X's face in this picture pretty much sums up our feelilngs at the time

We made our way to Taupo where unfortunately we were unable to do the Tongariro Crossing (due to wind) but were offered a FREE ride to be the guinea pigs for a new hike along the Tarawera Lake. This is after we all succesfully finished the 18 1/2 kilometer hike.