Detergent Induced Geyser

Kia Ora from Rotorua...the land of Japanese tour buses, Souvenier shops, and the beautiful sulfuric acid smell of rotten eggs in the air. So I was told that Rotorua was a tourist trap, and I was like ," Ohhh but I want to see the geothermal action, smell that wonderful sulfuric air, feel the alive-ness of the earth under my feet...". Wrong. I paid 63$ yesterday to watch a geyser be set off by a dude pouring laundry detergent down it. It was actually hilarious...there was a literal stadium seating of 500 people, all cameras up, waiting anxiously for an upgraded size of a 3rd grade science project volcano to erupt. A felt a little ripped off, to be honest. Ahh but you live and you learn, and now I know that if I find a random hot spring in the middle of the bush, I can charge people 60$ to watch me pour soap down its fucking hole to watch it explode. Sweet as!

But all was not like this in Rotorua- The backpackers I stayed in was awesome, it was called Crash Palace and there was a hot tub, patio area, pets, and really, really cool fucking people. I roomed with a chick named Kristi from Estonia, who was 20 but had more ridiculous stories of traveling than anyone I've ever met combined. And then the German, who we dubbed "germany", the chef who cooked us a gourmet meal of mushroom and pumkin seed rissotto, fresh fish with white wine garlic butter sauce, and a salad with fresh roasted vegetables. We also were kicked out of Lava Bar for Kristi's criminal antics of not taking off her hat. And we befriened another German with a car who gave us a lift to the Beautiful blue lakes. So all the free stuff we did was clearly better than my expensive day in the "geothermal wonderland".

I think that 3 days is just enough time to be in a place to start to feel comfortable, really get to know people, but then feel a little sad about leaving. It was the same in Auckland- 3 days breaks down a few of those "getting to know you barriers", and you really start to see people as genuine friends. I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time in Raglan, hopefully getting to know a lot of the long term stayers and making some real connections. And hopefully getting some surf in as well.

As for now, I'm headed to Taupo. More to come soon!