Hi

Well here I am in Apollo Bay, It's raining and I haven't been able to find the local HG pilot. Looks like a nice place to fly though. Now where was I ...

Oh yeah, Rotoura. Well I made it to Rotoura about 30 minutes before nightfall. As I entered town I could smell this awfull stench like someone was burning rancid garbage. I noticed smoke come from a clump of trees just on the outskirts of town, and said, that doesn't seem right. Well it turned out to be a sulphur hole. They were all over town.
The whole town smelled like Hydrogen Sulphide. Funny how such a stinky place could be turned into a holiday resort. The town reminded me of Niagara Falls, or Blackpool in England. It had this large boulevard of what looked like cheap Motels/Hotels put up in the 50/60s.

As usual by the time I checked in most shops had closed and
along with the internet cafes. This would become a running theme of the trip.

Next morning, drove South and saw Mud pools, Sulphur holes and terraces and such. Also checked out a Moari museum. Then I motored on back to the airport, then back to Auckland. I was really starting to get a hang of this driving thing. Went back to the old Albion Hotel. It was getting late so I worked on the postcards to send out. Luckily the bar downstairs was open 24/7 (my kinda bar). There is a casino across the street open 24/7 too. The bar was able to stay open so that employees had a place to go after work. I vowed that night that from then on everyone gets the same postcard and the same writeup. It was crazy, just like writing out Christamas cards. Oh, they still had xmas decorations up, including a large 2 storey Santa downtown. Weird.

Well not much more, sent the postcards, caught my plane next day, Wednesday, and was able to spend all my NZ dollars at the airport.

Arrived in the Sydney airport. Ha, and I haven't been searched once yet. So, the first thing I need is money. Easy enough, just find an ATM. Well all three on the arrival floor were not working. I wanted to call Paloma and Paul, my friends, but I needed money. Finally after about 45 minutes I find one in departures, it won't accept my card. Found another one, and finally I got some money. I call, but no one's home so I decide to take the shuttle downtown. This is the second time I've arrived at the Sydney airport alone. I get dropped off at Circular Quay.
Next, find a phone. Checked six different phones and all their coin units were not working. What is going on in this country? How did they beat us out of best country to live in last year when nothing works, arggg. That was when I met my first weirdo.

Martin