“Oamaru? Why would you go on holiday to Oamaru?”
These are the words from my mate Liz after viewing my Snapchat story a couple weeks ago. They sum up just about everyone’s feelings when I tell them how much I love Oamaru. Even Kiwis struggle to understand why you’d want to spend any time there, or for that matter where Oamaru is even at.
Earlier on this year, I realized that my New Zealand summer was quickly slipping away like sand through my fingers. The days were disappearing, getting shorter and before too long I’d be back on another flight to Ireland.
At the end of Day 3 of my central North Island adventure, I enjoyed a somewhat restful night at the Comfort Inn Academy in Tauranga. It was somewhat restful because I had a niggling thought that I should climb the peak at Mt Maunganui. So, before finally drifting off to sleep, I decided to wake early and catch the sunrise from the top of the peak.
After the morning’s bike experience in Napier, I had a taste for adventure. So on day 2 of my central North Island excursion, I made a beeline for Rotorua and all of its adventurey goodness (Note: This is Part 2 in a 3 part series of a North Island Road Trip – check out Part 1 here).
In less than three hours, I was pulling into the Econo Lodge Cleveland in Rotorua. The journey (and probably the bike ride earlier in the day) had worn me out so when I arrived I was keen for a nana nap to recharge the batteries.
Backpacking Matt 
