Journal #23: Rotorua
3/24/16
Cover Photo: “I Hydroplane in the Bank”
Sheep Spotted: 0

Today’s Picture: Lake at Sunset somewhere in Rotorua

What an eventful day! Just kidding- it poured rain the entire day. But I did see Batman v. Superman, which finally answered the question that no one has ever wanted to ask: “Can a grim superhero movie exist without a plot?”

Anyways, tomorrow I head to Auckland- the largest city in New Zealand. As I mentioned in my previous blog, it is on the Northern part of the North Island so I’ll be taking a short bus trip there (roughly 4 hours).

Due to the storm, today was rather uneventful- so here are a few more notes about New Zealand:

1) Buses: Similar to the US, taking intercity buses is very easy. Also similar to the US, busing is never as simple as it should be. Theoretically, you should just have to show up at the spot and time your ticket says, and then get on the bus; however, due to the fact that buses break down all the time, prepare yourself for some switcheroos. For instance, when I showed up to board my bus to Rotorua on a bus line called “Intercity,” a different bus from a competing company called “Tranzit” was at the stop instead, with no explanation provided that this was the correct bus. Once you get on the correct bus though you are golden- the driver will even help you find the correct bus if you have to switch at any point during the ride.

2) Weather: I know every tourism guide on earth talks about how much it rains here, but honestly it’s not that big of a deal. Today was the first today in 24 days I’ve been here where it: A) rained hard enough to be difficult to go anywhere B) Rained most of the day. Usually at most it’s just a light drizzle that lasts a few hours tops- especially in the cities. It also didn’t rain a single time during the first 11 days I was in NZ, so it’s not particularly common either. That said- I would advise against pre-booking museum trips or anything where you are inside most of the time- Save those things for the days when it rains! Also- certain areas benefit from the rain- if you are in the Glenorchy/Te Anau/Milford Sound area (Southwest of South Island), you can see waterfalls running down the mountains!

3) Cash vs. Credit: This comes down to whether or not you have to pay international transaction fees on your credit card. Just about every shop and restaurant in New Zealand takes all major credit cards (even in small towns) so if you don’t have transaction fees, use your card. Generally speaking, a 2% fee will be thrown on there anyways (from the vendor)- so take that into account. ATMs are also everywhere- but remember that ATM fees are bi-directional- meaning the foreign bank will charge you a fee and your own bank will likely charge you a fee (usually 2% on each side). I discovered it was slightly cheaper in most cases to carry cash- so that’s what I did.

Only one beer today:

1) Epic “Armageddon” IPA: The younger brother to yesterday’s beer, I picked this up at a liquor store in bomber form (for the uninitiated: a bomber is a 22-ounce beer bottle (looks like a wine bottle) that is usually sold individually). Honestly, the taste was just legitimately bad; leading me to believe this had been in the fridge for too long. IPAs generally need to be drunk fresh, as the hops degrade quite quickly, and my guess is that this sat on the shelf just a wee bit too long. No real discernible flavors- mildly bitter tasting, with an odd tartness to it.

Hopping on a bus early to Auckland tomorrow- will have a post when I get there!

-MB