Waiting for the bus

Day 192 – Matamata, New Zealand

I’ve finally uploaded the Tongariro pictures!

My day started at quarter to three in the night, when some clumsy lout came to find his bed in my dormitory. Light, noise, everything. Fortunately I went back to sleep quickly.

I dropped the behemoth to the rental agency at the airport, they were overwhelmed and obviously wanted to get the keys and send me on my way, so it went quickly. Since I was early, I tried to get an earlier bus to get back to Matamata and my hosts, but it was sold out, so, no luck.

I hanged around Manukau, the suburb where I switch from the airport shuttle to my long-haul bus, and since I had a solid three hours to kill, I spent them in a nearby mall and reading in a public garden.

The pohutukawa (see picture above) is a tree flowering red in December, so the Kiwis call it the Christmas tree.

I ended up on the right bus, went off at the right stop, and arrived safely at my final destination.

And I baked a fruit cake.

This next week, my writings will be irregular, as I will have a sedate life and may not have travel gems to share.