Auckland and Te Aroha New Zealand

We had a blast in Auckland New Zealand. We were able to explore the city by foot and by bus. My legs have walked about 24 hours during the last four days. It has been exhausting but fun. Some fun facts about New Zealand that I have noticed thus far; the traffic is the opposite to us, so are the light switches, the toilets gush water and have two settings for them and using a card in the grocery store is almost more complicated than back home. The trees and birds are wildly different than back home and keep catching my eye.
On Sunday we hiked a volcano island called Ranitoto. We got quite burnt and i got stung by something unknown to me but I will recover. We both have been slapping on the aloe vera and trying to stay out of the sun to recover but it has been absolutely gorgeous for the last while. We enjoyed our hostel. It housed up to 176 people, had it's own kitchen you could use, a shower per floor (7), a deck, two activity rooms, and lots of amazing people from all over the world. We had five different roommates during the three nights we slept there, on from the Netherlands, one from Tipae, two from France, and one from Japan. We are thinking of visiting one of our roommates when we get to France. She was very sweet and made many friends along her year of travelling.
We left Auckland this morning and have holed up in another YHA hostel, however this one is a three bedroom cottage. So very cute with everything you could need and a sweet hostess as well. We explored the small town of Te Aroha and it's museum which was your basic small town museum. We are planning on making some delicious cookies while we are here and walking the domain here. A domain seems to be the local park/forested area that is protected and usually has the museum on or close by to it. We are also going to go to the local spa area to cool down and enjoy the natural springs.
Tomorrow we will move on to Rotorua where we will be staying for several days. I have loved meeting so many people on this trip from all over the world. I can't wait to meet more people and see the local sights. In Rotorua we are planning on participating in a Zorb activity and possible a mud spa thing. I am hoping I have the stomach for the Zorb and will report to you all about my success or failure to remain composed next time I post.
Every time I come to the computer cafe or library to use the internet I forget to bring my camera cord. I will upload photos soon (some cheesier than others) so that you can see what I have been up to in the last while.
All the best to you all!!
Love Jess