I must say, my Samsung Note 9's camera is indeed amazing! Day 5 started off like day 3. Woke up and lazed around in bed till check-out time. Was trying to charge my phone to 100% but this old lady whom I observed to have not showered for the past 2 days kept walking around. I couldn't take it at the smell anymore and left the place with 90% phone battery.
Walked back to Hamilton Central to look for breakfast. Wanted to get some pancakes from McDonald's for breakfast but they don't really serve that here. Bumped, I just ordered a Big Mac meal for NZD11.40 because I queued for like 10 minutes already. Their fries are tasty though, I'll give them that. Compared to Singapore's fries, New Zealand's ones have that certain fragrance and crisp that is simply addictive to every crunch.
With my heavy backpack, I don't really have much of a choice except to wait till 3pm for my bus to Rotorua. I severely underestimated the weight of my backpack and thought I could squeeze in a walk or two while I wait for my bus. Ended up waiting at the InterCity Bus depot where it is warm and there were charging spots. Lesson learnt: Book buses as early as possible so I won't waste half a day waiting after check-out.
Finally the bus came and I hopped onto it. The scenery this time was amazing. I really love the clear skies and spectacular greenery. No more tall buildings, no more big factories, just plain grasslands stretching beyond the horizon. Saw lots of cows and sheep too!!! It's true when they said there are more sheep than humans in New Zealand!
The bus stopped by a small town called Matamata and I thought it was a pretty cool town out in the middle of nowhere. And the town's famous for being near to the site Hobbiton, where Lord Of The Rings was filmed. Ahhhh that's an adventure for another day... Upon reaching Rotorua, I was greeted to the smell of rotten egg all over town, which I came to realise is from the geothermal geysers in the area. Dayum son. Stinks to high heavens...
The hostel, Rotorua Downtown Backpackers, that I checked into is the best one for this trip yet. Seriously, clean and neat rooms, with bright windows, strong WiFi and individual charging ports. And cheap too! This makes the Auckland hostel look inferior and the Hamilton one like a dumpster.
Wasting no time, I headed out to find dinner at 6pm. Wanted to eat at a Western restaurant but the prices are absurd. Met a couple of fellow Singaporeans who are also hesitating big time on their budget. So I walked right out to the Pizza Hut beside it and holey moley the prices are crazy cheap!
Ordered a large Triple Meat & Cheese with Mozarella crust for just NZD11.89. With a 1.5L bottle of water from Pak'N'Save, it was the most worth meal ever this trip. Walked straight to Lake Rotorua to find a spot to consume my dinner. Fancy eating pizza at a place that smells like rotten eggs!
And right in the middle of the hot springs and geothermal geysers I found the right spot. The seagulls were all enviously looking at me eat. It was the most self-romantic meal in my life. It was so peaceful and quiet, and the weather is still ever amazing! Sadly the pizza got cold real fast and the cheese hardened quickly.
Saw a bench and it was time for my selfies again. The lake is a pretty small lake so I could see the houses on the other side of the lake. Figured it would be nice to have them inside my shots too. But the lighting was quite bad and I only managed to take a few live focus shots. Dang.
Further up the coastline, there were a few rocks that made this outpost a perfect photo opportunity. Even caught a frame with the birds flying close to me!!! Had a couple different tourists help me take more candid shots! Seriously quality pictures right here! Quite literally wallpaper and display picture material!
And that brings me to the sunset, one which I longed to see for so damn long. Literally the only things I wanted to see for this trip are sunsets and lakes. Waited for almost an hour to get shots of the amazing view. Almost froze to death too.
Just before the sun completely went down, I thought I should start walking back since there isn't gonna be any lights on the road home. Saw this one young couple back their vehicle towards me and they offered me a ride back! What could have been another hour of freeze walking became five warm minutes in the car! Thank God!
Went for a quick shower and settled back in bed to type out this reflection and update my loved ones that I'm still alive. All in all, I'm really really happy to have arrived in Rotorua because this is one of the best towns yet!!! Did I mention I really hate big cities and love countrysides more?
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