Van Auckland naar Rotorua
Yep. I took the bus. Again. I still can’t get myself into renting a car or mobilehome. It’s not just a sustainability issue – they offer also electrical once (might have an opinion about material use and sourcing for that), it’s mostly a social one: In the bus, I had a great chat with the driver and a lady from Manchester. Even it was ‘just’ the usual public transport, the bus driver offered a lot of information about all kind of things along the route: nature, farming, adventure… you name it. (He was not the critical sustainable type, but) he was funny, friendly and proud of his country. Wouldn’t have had that, alone, in a car. It’s relaxed to take the bus. Lay back, enjoy the view, don’t bather about traffic, navigation, road closures and other stuff. Don’t bather about “see the most” of “see it all” (not possible anyway), just enjoy what comes along, take it in, be there.
The journey started with the Uber this morning. It was rush hour. The driver asked if it would be okay, that he took a little d-tour to avoid the traffic. Definitely fine with me! Saw some new (to me) neighbourhoods, learned about schools and the education system. Talked about India, Sri Lanka en Queenstown. Uber drivers are mostly chatty 🙂
At the bus terminal, I met the Manchester-lady. Is her first time in New Zealand, too. Funny enough, she also expect to have a better experience bij using public transport. Kept asking the driver questions. Now we know a lot about where he is from, how he lived his life and about his family and their horses. The horses kept the ladies busy back home. Though, he even could enjoy his roling office on the road more, in a beautiful landscape, meeting new people everyday. Happy guy!
Ben here in Rotorua for just a few hours and already saw the tangible richness of the city: the lake, the mountains, a sacred well, Maori traditions, geothermal features and a lot more. The city spread widely along the shore of the lake, spacious, cared for. Love to discover the deeper layers beneath it!
Maybe tomorrow? Tomorrow is Waitangi!
