Road Trip: New Zealand Day 12

We began our journey southward towards Wellington this morning in Auckland, driving to Rotorua first, and stopping over in Taupo for the night.

It took us about three and a half hours to get to Rotorua, where we broke for lunch at Fat Dog's and then wandered around the town to see some of the sights, like Lake Rotorua, the eruption site at Kurau Park and the Polynesian Spa.

Rotorua smells of sulphur. It is due to the geothermal and volcanic activity around the area. You see steam coming out of various places, and you constantly feel like someone farted and did not admit it.

The drive to Rotorua was not as grueling as the northbound one to Paihia, Bay of Islands, as the roads were generally better. You could do 100kmh most of the time, and there aren't as many small, winding, mountain roads that is so common on the road to Bay of Islands.

We got a chance to try the hot pools at the Polynesian Spa, which offers all kinds of spa therapies, massages and treatments. We chose to try the hot pools, which are supposed to be good for aches and pains. You get to soak in a soft alkaline water which comes from a deep, boiling spring nearby, and the water temperature is between 33C to 43C. Our private deluxe pool cost NZD20 per person (minimum two persons) for 30 minutes, and it comes with its own shower and changing area. Towels cost NZD4 to rent.

Why deluxe? Because you get a view of the lake and you can see birds flying and making noise around you. It was quite pleasant but we kept wondering if we were going to get bombed by passing birds. Because it is now winter, and it was drizzling all day, the air was really cold and we had to change very fast and get into the hot pool before our nuts froze.

Once inside the water, you do feel very relaxed. If you prefer, you can also go the public pools area which costs NZD17 with no time limit. Ryan and I felt a little awkward, two guys asking for the private pool. But we actually chose it because we were not going to stay long and it was NZD3 more only.

After a quick shower and change, we jumped back to the car and drove towards Taupo. We did swing by Lake Rotorua for a look, but we did not get out of the car because suddenly, we found ourselves surrounded by mosquitoes by the bank of the lake. We could see them pounding away at our windscreen, excited at the prospect of two full-blooded blokes. They must have been thinking, "Singaporeans! It's dinner time, boys! Imported blood too!"

We pulled into Taupo in the late afternoon. Lake Taupo is one of the landmarks here, and it is slightly larger than Singapore. If you fit the whole population of New Zealand in the space occupied by this lake, you will get Singapore.

We checked into Go Global Central Backpackers, a place that offered beds, dorms and rooms. It was not fancy but the small double room we got was clean, affordable, and had an attached bathroom. And the people running it, friendly.

You have to get used to little things in accommodations like this. For one, our sink was located in the room itself, not the bathroom. There is no TV here (but with the state of New Zealand free-to-air TV, we were not missing much) but you can watch it in the common room. There is a shared kitchen and also a little computer room with four PCs for internet. Which is where I am typing this. It costs NZD5 for an hour of internet, and NZD1 to rent a towel. Needless to say, I am not able to do any fancy internet uploading but I am happy to be able to do basic stuff like hook up my N95 to transfer photos, check emails, and to blog.

Opposite our backpackers' hostel is a more sophisticated internet cafe that opens till 7.30pm. It costs about the same but they have more computers. The sign on the door says Wireless is coming, so maybe next time you swing by here, you can use your own laptop.

We had a quick bite at KFC nearby. You can tell Taupo is a swanky little town because they have a shopping centre with the word "Plaza" in its name, and all the major fastfood joints like McD's, Subway, Pizza Hut and KFC.

Ryan is fast asleep at the moment, and it is only early evening. We are both a little bushed from the road trip today. We have another day of driving tomorrow, which will take us to Wellington.