Driving South and Car Crash

After I dropped Sevo off at the airport, I stayed one more night in Auckland. I texted a friend, Sophia, who I had also met in Auckland and who had also been in Tauranga with me. We decided to drive south together. She also had bought a car, so we would meet up at the stops. She came from Tauranga, I came from Auckland.

Our first stop was Rotorua. We met up in the forest and went on a walk through the beautiful forest with its majestic trees.

Afterward, we looked at the city. Rotorua is famous for its hot pools, caused by geothermal activity. There are loads of volcanoes, so there's lots of magma beneath the surface, which causes the water temperature to be this high, causes the smell of sulfur everywhere, and makes for a unique landscape. So we went to a park, where we saw some lakes with a natural temperature of 100°C. Next, we went into town and saw that there actually was a free music festival that day. We stayed for a few minutes before we continued to drive toward Taupo.

The next day, we went to Huka Falls. That was pretty spectacular. The falls aren't very high but carry a lot of water masses that move rather quickly. The water is a beautiful turquoise color.

Next, we went to the Craters of the Moon. At first, I thought the title was a bit over the top, but I was soon proven wrong. Here, the magma is just 3km below the surface, which heats the water up and causes a lot of steam to rise. There are many holes in the ground through which the evaporated water escapes. The ground itself has a temperature of 100°C at some spots. Therefore, only a few plants can grow here. In some cases, there are actual craters, caused by a sudden burst of steam, which threw rocks in the air and left a hole in the ground. The craters of the moon was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life. It is such a unique landscape and quite fascinating.

We went into the city of Taupo, had food by the lakeside, and went to the famous McDonald's on a plane. We stayed the night at the mountainside of Mt Ruapehu, one of the two mountains used for Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings. The second one is Mt Tongariro, which we also drove by. The campsite we stayed at was the first one that gave me instructions on what to do in case of a volcanic eruption. The last one had been almost 30 years ago, so the probability of something happening is not very big.

The next day it rained quite heavily, so we scrapped our plans for the day and decided to drive south. Sophia had a farm job to go to, and I wanted to go to Napier or Wellington to work as well. After a while, it cleared up. We decided to meet up in Palmerston North to grab some lunch. When I arrived in Palmerston North, I pulled into a parking lot, so I could text Sophia to determine where we will eat. We made a decision, so I pulled back out. I looked for any oncoming traffic. When I was clear I pulled onto the main road. I approached the next intersection. From the side of my eye, I saw a shadow approaching, but when I understood what it was, it was too late. A car had crashed into my hood. At first, I couldn't believe what had just happened. I got out of the car and talked to the other party. She was a girl, around my age. We immediately called the police. After a few minutes, they came. They asked if everyone is okay. I told them that my back hurts a bit, but I can just go to the doctor later. They called the ambulance. I was checked out, but they said I'm fine. Considering the damage, it was obvious, that I couldn't continue driving the car. I got my stuff out of the car before it was once again towed. The police had all the information they needed. They determined that it was the other party's fault. I got the number to the police record and the other party's insurance information. I was supposed to call the insurance and resolve the rest with them. I had called Sophia immediately after the crash, so luckily I could ride with her. We called her farm stay and I was allowed to come with her for now. All of my plans were shattered. I didn't know what to do.

The farm stay was okay, but it was wwoofing, so they wanted me to work, too, which is totally understandable. I was incredibly emotional, though, and very much in shock. My mind was constantly at the crash and I cried a lot. The next day I woke up with a sore neck, and my back still hurt. I worked one day but knew I didn't want to stay there for long. It was in the middle of nowhere, so without a car, I couldn't even do anything. The following day I took the bus toward Wellington. After a couple of hours on the bus, my back was quite sore. I decided to go to the doctor. They determined, that I have a whiplash and a neck and lumbar sprain. The crash caused the muscles to tighten up, which is what causes the pain. She prescribed me to go to physiotherapy, which I did and actually helped a bit.

My plan was to find work, but now everything was up in the air and I wasn't even sure how much longer I want to travel. Staying in hostels can be tough since you don't have any privacy and traveling without a car makes things so much harder. There are so many things you simply cannot do without one. I decided to travel for now to determine any future plans.

I stayed in Wellington for a little over a week. I absolutely loved this city. I met so many cool people and there are so many things to do. It feels much more alive than Auckland, even though it is a lot smaller. There are events almost every day in the local bars and small theaters. I went to some comedy nights and even a magic show.

During my time there I also had to talk to insurance. It was a constant back and forth. I discovered, that the other party actually had a "give way" sign. The insurance confirmed my suspicion that the car was a write-off. It was destroyed. Eventually, they determined that it was the other party's fault and gave me my money back. However, they did want me to pay insurance for the whole year, even though I only had the car for two weeks. I am still in the process of figuring that out.

In Wellington I went to Weta Studios, which is the studio where all the props and costumes for Lord of the Rings were created. I got to see the first costumes made for the movies, Gimli's helmet, Aragorn's tobacco pouch, Pippin's feet, Frodo's sword Sting, and so much more. It was really cool! I also went to Mount Victoria and got to see the Hobbit's hiding spot, when the black rider came, the way the black rider came on, and Frodo's reading tree.

Another day we went up a small mountain with a cable car and had some great views.

The harbor was one of my favorite spots, though. The view is nice, and there are so many different spots along the harbor to discover. I absolutely loved Wellington. This has been my favorite city so far.