So, an hour of my last morning in Rotorua was spent running around trying to buy a phonecard that would actually work in the blooming telephones that are here.
Could I find a coin phone so I could use my existing phonecard? No.
Did I have a map that showed me where the nearest one was? Yes.
Could I be bothered to spend my last morning in a nice place looking for a coin phone? NO! Especially when I thought that I should buy one of the other phonecards in case this happened again.
Jesus. Travelling is stressful!!!

Anyways, I call home and reassure my ma and pa that I am still alive and it's not just my tortured spirit that has been texting and emailing my sister....
The phonecard is obviously not for international calls however, as a $10 card last me approximately 5 minutes. Great. I should just have done a breathing exercise and found that coin phone. That'll teach me!! (But I wanted to go to the gardens!!)

Afterwards, I have a nice time strolling around the Government Gardens, which is actually very nice. A little bit English, but still very nice. They have an oriental pond, and a rose garden. The rose garden is right next to a stumpy looking totem pole too that I think was a present from a Canadian somebody or the other. Which makes sure that you do realise you're not in Kew Gardens!
I thought I might be able to take a quick peek in the museum as it wasn't too big, but the entry fee is $12 and I didn't want to pay that to run round the museum, fly by all the exhibits, and then have to rush back to get my bus!! So, the museum didn't get my patronage, but I am certain it (and I) will survive!

Off I go again then, dragging my suitcase behind me, to get my bus to Whakatane. Man, I wish I'd brought less stuff. Why do I have so much stuff, and why do I keep accumulating more? Granted, my most recent souveneir purchases did go in a box today at the Post Office and should be winging their way home in 15-25 working days! I have also bought some food - generally quite essential for snacking on the bus and just eating in general! I have to have some fuel to lug the rest of my belongings around me. However, I am glad that I didn't have a backpack because I think I would have broken myself somewhere by now. Or broken myself in several places probably. I'm sure my back would be suffering, let alone my groin strain that I had about a year ago!! I know it would attempt to keep my brain on the straight and narrow to not buy so much stuff....but I'm such a clutterbug that it probably wouldn't have worked anyways!

The bus was also late leaving today, though we didn't stop for long in places, so I guess time was made up there. A nice lady got talking to me at the bus stop, just asking me where I was from and the usual. She said she lost her husband about 6 months ago, so had been visiting another lady here who had been through the same thing. We got talking about the fires in Victoria for some reason, and then she told me she is a Jehovah's witness. Great. She seemed like such a nice lady and then she tried to ply me with a leaflet. Ha. I had the perfect excuse in that I had so much stuff that I couldn't possibly carry anything else. Not even a small leaflet such as the one she was offering. She took it nicely enough though, thankfully.

I'm staying in another hostel tonight, and it is soooo much better than the last one. The hostel is only a couple of years old, so it's still really new looking and also down a quiet street. I even got picked up at the information site - yay! I'm only staying one night though so hopefully I'll get to see whales and dolphins tomorrow. I know there are other opportunities along my journey but this is one of the more quieter places to see them as it's not one of the major stops where everybody else goes. However, it is all weather dependent and when I called them earlier today, they said that I would have to call back in the morning to find out whether they would be going. Bummer. Here's hoping the weather is good enough tomorrow!
My Scottish room mate - Holly - tried to go today and even went out on the boat, but they had to turn back as the sea was too choppy. When I went for a little wander earlier, I saw one of the boats they use and it is actually quite small so no wonder they had to turn back!

Whakatane itself is also really beautiful. It almost looks like a large cliff by the sea got a big chunk carved out of it, and they put a town here. There are beautiful cliffs all around us, with lots of green trees on them too! There's a Pizza Hut here though, believe it or not!! Blooming Pizza Hut - gets everywhere! No Starbucks or Mc-hurl-burger though - yay! It seems like quite a small town, but a seemingly very nice one.

I'm not sure what I'll do with myself tomorrow if I can't go swimming with dolphins, but there is a wee museum, and there are lots of nice walks around town too. So, that is probably what I'll be doing before I get my bus to Gisbourne. I don't think there's anything of particular interest in Gisbourne, it's just a place where I need to stop to get my bus to Napier. Just breaks up the journey otherwise I would be spending a whole day travelling on the bus. Urgh. Getting so tired of hopping on and off buses. Still got 2.5 more weeks of it too. Bummer. My guide book says Gisbourne is nice enough though and I'm sure I'll find something to do with myself. No, not more shopping, don't worry :D
Apparently Gisbourne is NZ's most easternmost city so is the first place to catch the sun! Hmm, topping up my tan might be in order. The top half of me is almost brown enough to be Indian, whereas my legs are obviously so shocked at seeing so much sun that they haven't tanned as well as the top half! They're trying to catch up, but there is quite a big difference! Oh, Gisbourne has a nice museum too - yay! I'll be able to shelter from the sun in there then :D

Maori pronounciation lesson - Whakatane can either be pronounced Fa-ka-tar-nay, or Wa-ka-tar-nay. Some people like saying it with an 'f' and others prefer the 'w'. I don't mind either way but apparently some people get upset with the 'f' pronounciation....