Summer is made to play

Taupo, New Zealand

First of all, I know, you're not used to me being silent for that long. It's rare that I stay without a word for a long time, but New Zealand's internet knocked me down.

Free wi-fi is hard to find in that part of Oceania. In McDonald's restaurants, you can only use a certain amount of Mb before being disconnected. In other places, you pay for the amount of Mb used. Upload a picture or a video and hop, no more time left...

So here I am, in Wellington, the capital of this beautiful country, in a chinese restaurant with free wi-fi.

I started my adventure in Auckland, a bipolar city like I call it, like the whole country, where it rains 15 times a day, but generally not for a long time. A mix of Sherbrooke and Montreal, the biggest city in New Zealand has nothing to impress when you first look at it. Luckily, I contacted a couchsurfer who guided me for nearly two days. He for example brought me on an old valcano for some hiking.

Four hours of bus further south, I got in Rotorua, known for it's thermal baths. But most of the points of interest are situated outside of the city. So you need a car. I just decided to walk along the lake and to go to a dinner-show about the maori culture... where I was named maori chief for the night. The lady probably chose me because I was the only lonesome traveler. Having to make weird faces in front of fifty something tourists, most of them being Koreans or Japanese, it means I will probably soon become a star in Asia. When you think of how many videos they took...

The advantage is that I met a Japanese girl I will probably see again in Tokyo, in the end of April or the beggining of May.

The next day, I left for Taupo, where cruises, sailing, skydiving, rafting, bungee and others are on the list of things we can do. I was using the city as a base to go to the Tangariro Alpine Crossing, a 19,4 km trail on the volcano they used for the Mordor in Lord of the rings. Departure : 5:40 in the morning. Start walking : arounf 7 AM. It took around 8 hours to walk the whole trail. Fortunately, my heel and my calf, which were giving me pain in the last few days, were miraculously in shape.

After fighting the sun, rain, snow, hail, rain again, I was so tired. but you'll see, it was totally worth it.

And today, after six hours on the bus, I got in Wellington, the capital. I'm here for a few days, but plans can change after that. Queenstown, which wasn't on my list, seems to be a favorite for all the travelers I meet... We'll see. If the flight is not too expensive.

In the end, note that all the terminals here refuse to read the chip on the credit cards. For an unknown reason, my Visa card wasn't working. After a reverse fee call in the phone system of my bank, I was told something like I was kind of stupid because my card is supposed to work properly. (I'm writing it in my own words). So I'll keep on looking stupid each time my card is not working.