New Zealand is Boring

New Zealand is a beautiful, but sleepy country. It's like a colder, quieter version of Hawaii. People are friendly and the quality of life is good. But, I'd never be able to live there: it's too boring for me. I need big cities, action and a faster pace of life.

However, I did try to make the most out of my time there. After arriving in the South Island, I proceeded to the North Island. First, I visited Wellington, the capital. Then, I moved on further north to Rotorua.

The scenery on the South Island reminds me of what I imagine the Scottish Highlands to be like. The scenery on the North Island is somewhat similar to that of Hawaii, but looks a bit less tropical. One could say New Zealand is a bit like British Columbia too, because of the weather.

In Rotorua, I saw sites of geothermal activity such as erupting mud pools, geysers, steams vents and a village that has been buried in ashes and lava over a hundred year ago. I also had some wine with a friendly German girl I met that day.

After that, I moved a bit West and rented a car. It was the first time I drove on the left side of the road. It wasn't too bad, but often, I had fractions of seconds when I was thinking to myself "that guy's on the wrong side of the road" or when I felt I should move to the right lane. Fortunately, I never did so. However, I did freak out an old lady who was driving straight from the opposite direction when I turned right without giving her right of way. Basically, what I did is the North American equivalent of turning left onto a perpendicular street when someone's coming at you from the opposite direction. Two-lane roundabouts and the way to deal with them were new to me too.

Anyway, I drove to a beach where thermal springs spew out hot water from under the sand. So, if you dig into the beach, you create your own hot thermal bath. After benefiting from the hot water, I had to find a place to stay the night and found a B&B on a farm.

The next day, I visited a cave complex that has glowworms illuminating its ceiling in a way that makes it look like an underground night sky. Then, I returned the rental car and took a bus to Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city (which is still only about as big as Ottawa). There's not much to see or do in that city, so I decided to fly out of there pretty quickly.