Auckland to Te Horro, March 15th 2013

Auckland to Te Horro via Taupo

A hike at 5.15am from Fat Cats to the little suburban railway station at Sunnyvale. On the move again, this time down towards Wellington, getting off the bus at Te Horro. Its about 11 hours according to the schedule which I have no good reason to disbelieve. The Kiwis seem to have everything pretty well organised up till now anyway . Credit card into the machine for a $5.60 ticket to Britomart, the end of the line in downtown Auckland, about 50 minutes away. Cash can be used of course but my last experience using cash here wasn’t the best - no change in the machine!

My first up close and personal experience with downtown Auckland, albeit in the dark. Like any modern downtown area, its clean, well stocked with American fast food joints, plenty of shops - all the well known boutiques reside around here. Outlined against the night sky, skyscrapers, office blocks and the Sky Tower, Auckland’s most prominent landmark. Those with a death wish can opt to jump off it, attached to a giant elastic band that you hope wont snap! The long distance bus terminal is just underneath the tower, on Hobson Street, not that easy to find actually, had to ask  a street vendor the way.

A grumpy little driver, apparently I should have booked the ticked to Te Horro as he huffs and puffs, writing out a label for my luggage. Well, looks like I can get off at Te Horro, the bus passes through the place anyway. The ticket is $39 NZD booked on-line a few days ago, actually not a bad price from the Kiwis for a change, since everything else here is on the expensive side. 8am and the bus pulls away and thus begins an epic journey - North to South across the most scenic landscapes New Zealand’s North Island has to offer, assuming the weather stays fine, a little overcast right now.

Pick-ups in the suburbs before getting going towards Lake Taupo and Lunch. Hilly terrain here, mountains loom in the distance but lush greenery is missing - fields are infact scorched, baron and dusty for there has been no rain in New Zealand for several weeks. The whole North Island has been declared drought, and signs on the roadside warn of extreme fire risk. 12h35 and the bus rolls into Taupo, 30 minutes here to have lunch, sight-see and anything else of pressing importance. Passengers heading for Napier are told to change buses here for the 1pm bus, while this one departs 1h05pm - don’t be late!

Taupo, a pretty small place and judging by the amount of cafes, restaurants, it’s a tourist town with tourist prices. For the average visiting Brit here, food from cafes is astonishingly expensive - a ham and cheese roll, get a small carton of orange juice and that’s a whopping  10 NZD, 5.50 in UK money. A quick stomp along the main road down to the lake for a few scenic photos. Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand and attracts tourists predominantly for water sports. Not today though, its fairly quiet with the season just ending. A few scenic photos then before stomping back up towards the bus station. Not the best day for this, overcast and misty in the distance, but there is just the faintest outline of the mountainous backdrop. McDonalds are here of course and they have a plane. Yes, an old DC3 Dakota parked beside their restaurant, no time to investigate though, need to make that bus.