Middle Earth tour Day 8: Climb every mountain and cross every stream for friendly wifi signal Waiouru to Feilding.

Middle Earth tour Day 8: Climb every mountain and cross every stream for friendly wifi signal Waiouru to Feilding.

Today was the planned journey to Feilding from Waiouru. I wasnt sure what the weather would be doing other than being cold and not sure about being wet. For me it was going to be a long day with heaps of waiting and my idea was to take a walk to the museum again and do some research  for four hours. There is a reason I like to catch the bus to destinations in the morning as I don’t like waiting around in the afternoon to be hanging around places with nothing to do. Waiouru was one such town as the only thing there was really the museum.

I did get up with plenty of time to sort out my stuff before checking out. Once I had gotten food and had a coffee I sat down to watch TV though Thundercats were on and I found another showing of The Hobbit though half way through it was time for me to leave or checkout. The reception was friendly enough to allow me to leave my bags there. When I left I looked towards Mount Rhuapehu as the base was showing a bit less cloud cover than I had when seen it when I first arrived. I then walked towards the museum and wondered what a New Zealand Army Marae looked like. I had images in my head about things that looked very armyish. Once I found the building 700 metres down the road they looked like all the other Marae that I had seen in the past with all the carvings, but I did see the cemetery on the way past too. The cemetery was not very big at all  as it had at least a dozen graves and seemed to be all for service people. After a little more wandering i wandered through part of a local park wondering if I was being watched by the army like with drones. I ended up across the road from the museum watching the clouds around the mountains. I was happy to sit there for a while and I even seen a white Spyder pull up to the museum. I later found it was the sports touring model and I asked what the panniers were like. The lady replied that they were really good and you would not even know they are there. Something to think about.

Once I had lunch and gotten two books from the bookshop at the army museum I headed to the motel to collect my bags so that I can wait for the bus. The lady on reception was telling me all about the last time Rhuapehu had blown its top in the 90s. People were wanting to book cabins so they could have good views of the volcano. Some people stupidly asked i they were allowed to go walking around up there while it was smoking. No idea why people can be not so smart. The Chatteau near Natonal park had a large rock land nearby so the mountain was pretty powerful with its eruption. Once I was able to leave I had a half hour to wait for the bus to come as it was coming from Auckland. The driver knew I was going to bulls especially since I was the only pickup from Waiouru. I was happy to be on the bus though it was a short run til we got to the Flat Hills cafe, which was a short break and then onto Bulls. Once we had stopped in Bulls I had over an hour to wait for the next bus to come and I wanted to wander around the town quickly. A creepy guy asked me which bus I was waiting for and when I answered Feilding. He asked if it was coming from Auckland. I replied that I had no idea though the one I was on had come from there. I went for a walk past the cop shop that was called Consta Bull. There were other locations in town that had something to do with Bulls. The funniest one was on the plunked house saying Non return bull. The wander didn’t take long with my bag on my back especially when I made it as far as the library where it had a war memorial at its entrance.

The next bus came when I was around 40 mins later when I was waiting at the info centre that had actually closed at 5pm. The driver actually let me on even though the bus was early or just another one. The driver surprised me when he asked if I had come from Waiouru when I asked if he wanted to see my ticket. That was the strangest thing I had ever heard as I never knew they would remember the starting point of passengers. The creepy guy had come back too and he wasn’t after an Intercity bus, but a Naked bus that he had apparently either missed or was still coming. I do wonder if people actually know where to catch the bus they are after or even made sure. We left him back at the info centre where we headed to my next destination the town of Feilding. It was pretty simple to get around the town especially when the bus passes where you are staying on the way to the train station.

The hotel that I am staying in is actually a historic pub that had opened in 1875 although it had been damaged by fire in 1909 and 1910. The information was on the plaque that was outside on the side of the building. I did find that I had my free mystery wifi again that had followed me from Waiouru. I am wondering if there is free wifi in some CBDs in various towns. I have no idea though when I asked the bloke at the pub when I paid for my room he only knew the internet as Wifi. I was actually expecting to find this place not to have the internet actually and I was directed to Maccas for internet. I am not desperate though. Before dark I had a quick wander through town looking at some of the murals around the town. There were many tourist type trails plastered on a few of the buildings. One of the hotels  was going to stay had their emails bounce back was actually dead as a door nail with only one person that I could see. Still the town was interesting and I know how to get to some places now like the local cemetery that will take me an hour to get to. Just follow the train line there.

I think I have gotten out of my comfort zone with this trip as I do not usually stay in hotels or motels. He last time I had done that was when I was in Mackay where the fan in the hotel room was dodgy was back in 2001 I think it was. I don’t know how noisy this place will be with a pub below though I have not been down there to have a drink. Still I like where I am as not every place has a hostel as I found out. It doesn’t even seem scary where i am. The next place that I will have a room to myself will be Otorohanga and then Matamata I think.