NOTE: In my last last entry (Day 1), I mentioned being an asshole and waving my US passport in my face to avoid getting checked by customs. I just read that again and said, “Wow what an asshole.” Why: I made it sound like being an American citizen should automatically exclude me from such identity checks. I made the previous statement out of anger of people that constantly doubt me about my “Americaness” however I don’t think that this was one of those cases. A friend of mine back in California once told me I looked hella suspicious when he saw me in a convenience store walking back and forth. I believe this stems from my constant daydreaming and the excess movement that this causes. When I stepped off the plane, I was thinking about something while fumbling with some bags and I think that this attracted a suspicious gaze from the Brett look alike more so than me being Asian.
Day 3: Auckland -> Rotorua
The first half of today was especially frustrating. I spent half the day calling up rental car companies and trying to find a better deal.
Travel Tip: Car relocation in New Zealand and Australia (moving a car from one city to another for an individual or a rental car company) is the cheapest option for getting around. Individuals/Companies will either let you do it for free or charge you 5-10 dollars a day. The catch is that there’s a time limit (requiring you usually to be driving most of the time, leaving not much time for sightseeing) and for companies, they take a 3,000 dollar imprint on your credit card (an imprint is an unprocessed transaction on your credit card that goes into effect if anything should happen to the vehicle).
We got offered to drive from Auckland to Christchurch in three days which is doable, but would leave us with barely anytime to check out the sights along the way so we stuffed that option. The other option that we took was to rent for 10 days to travel both the North and South island which was cheaper than renting separately in both the North and the South Islands even after factoring in the vehicle ferry cost (note: we would’ve had to pay for the vehicle ferry cost for the car relocation option as well).
Long story short, I was able to finally put my Economics degree to use and find the best cost effective option, although it took me half the day on the phone and on the internet to do it. I commented on this to Apo and she made the accurate observation that, “You have to choose between saving money or time, you rarely get both.”
And off we went! Well not quite. We were stuck in the airport/car rental area for half an hour trying to get out (yes, my fault, I was driving) but eventually we got out and on our way to Rotorua (about 2 and ½ hours south of Auckland).
Driving on the left side of the road for me is akin to using my left hand to hold chopsticks (I’m right handed), it’s awkward at first but eventually you get used to it. One thing that I noticed that helps is that when you’re driving on the right or left side, the driver’s seat is always positioned closer to the middle of the road, making the transition a bit easier.
We knew that we got into Rotorua by just smelling the air; Rotorua is a hotspot of sulfur pools and hot springs. We checked in at a Holiday Park (caravan park) that had mineral pools (pools filled with natural, hot, mineral water). I had brought swim trunks, but Apo just went in with shorts and a t-shirt much to the surprise of the other family that was soaking with us.
We got back to the car put down the back seats and got out the sleeping bags. It was too dark and too cold to set up tent, so we decided just to sleep in the car. Luxury!
DT: Internet 2.5 + Food 16 + Car Rental* 95 + Holiday Park* 15 + Laundry 3.5 = 131 NZD
TS: 298.7 NZD
DA: 99.57 NZD
*Just my part of the cost.
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