Hostelling Adventure

So far the Wifi in the Motels we had stayed didn't really work well and we decided to also get a SIM Card for my Dad.

On the way to get breakfast we walked through the Rotorua Mall and found a Vodafone store. Same repaid card as I had would be just right for them as well, so they can use it even after I will have left.

Since my Parents had tried Dunkin Donuts in Seoul already and liked it we decided to go again. Mom and I shared half a dozen while Dad was happy with a Bagel.

Then we were off to Taupo, just a couple kilometre south of Rotorua.

We arrived just after lunchtime and spontaneously decided to stay at a hostel we stumbled upon.

My parents wanted to see what it's like to stay at a hostel these days (it certainly changed from back in the 60s, I'd say).

Unfortunately, this wasn't a very good hostel. It wasn't really dirty but there was no real atmosphere and the staff wasn't rude but not friendly either.

It was a bit of a strange place - I did miss my Murwillumbah hostel or even the ones in south-east Asia.

We rented four beds in a four bed dorm which came out only slightly cheaper than a cheap motel - but it's worth the experience.

Since we didn't want to spend much time in the little room with two bunks, a chair, no table and one wall plug, we decided to take a walk along the little stream that flows into Lake Taupo.

Very soon the footpath became a bit of a trek with nice views of the river down in the canyon and then we arrived at the Taupo Bungy (or Bungee) place.

A Bungy jump was one thing on my NZ-to-do list, so I had a look.

It looked very cool, very small and friendly team, but I knew I could save a couple of quid if I had a voucher. So I said I was going to come back the next day.

I did however watch two other guys jump - these were actually the first people I really watched doing a bungy jump.

We then continued along the path and soon went through a large nice park and then back to the river.

It was a really lovely walk with great weather and some hills and bridges to cross until we eventually got to the Huka falls.

Having a look around the falls (they are not extremely tall but they are more of a compression channel, where a large amount of water is forced through a narrow passage and accelerates with loads of white water gashes and spray) it became late already and we still had the entire walk back to Taupo.

It was quite a walk and all in all it was around 15km when we arrived on the food street with a large appetite.

Taupo, being a bit of a touristy town, there was a lot of choice and one of the owners (of grill@42) stood in front of his place and chatted up people to come in. He was just the right amount of pushy and left us to go and check the other places but was confident enough that we were going to return as his place was the best.

This is exactly what happened and a couple of minutes later, after walking up and down the street, he greeted us like old friends with a very firm handshake and showed us to his bar man who fixed us a drink.

It all was a bit like Scarface in the scene when he gets the table right at the front...

After that walk we deserved a bit of a reward and Dad and I went for big steaks, which indeed were perfect.

Mom had a great fish dish and after the meal we introduced the waiter into the art of post-meal espresso, which doesn't seem to be a thing here.

Very full and happy after this fancy dish we walked back to our Hostel to sit down in the common area and have a beer and write the blog.

Beer however was not allowed after 10 pm, which had just passed. Another rule you wouldn't find in good hostels.

The night guard, though looked the other way and let us have one bottle after which we had to go to bed.