My world walk blog 15 New Zealand

    Lake Taupo.

I spent four nights in Lake Taupo town and a huge shout out of thanks
to my host Steve Mcaneney for his incredible hospitality. He
transported me back and forth from my route and that gave me three
extra days baggage free walking and he told me to keep his spare key!
He is a mechanic, a swing bridge mechanic to be exact, so naturally,
he has to diversify and find other work for the town council.
Those days were glorious. One day I sat on a grassy bank looking out
at Lake Taupo, a majestic clear blue volcanic lake. I walked on
further and in Te Rangiita I sat and enjoyed a chicken salad sandwich.
Then I rambled along the banks of the lake and even down many
beautiful trails and a sandy shoreline. I stopped and had a swim as I
was in no hurry to finish off that 27 kilometre day in heaven. A 32
kilometre day followed when I finished about 27 north of Taupo. I
managed to walk about 15 kms of those on backroads where I walked past
llamas and stooped at a cow crossing. It was a nice change from busy
route 1.

Then a lazy Monday when I downed my four coffees. We are chatting with
his friend Sandy that hot 33C day. She asked me: "So Tony do you walk
fully clothed?"

"Well, Sandy I don't walk in the nude!"
Then Steve dropped me back to my route. I was not looking forward to
carrying my pack again as I have only carried it eight kilometres in
about nine days, so good have the people been and with three locations
to base myself from I was able to commute.
Refreshed I stormed to a two hour non-stop ten km march as far as
Atiamuri Village before lunching at a bus shelter, thankfully with the
oppressive sun at my back. I studied my map as Steve had told me that
there is a really popular backpackers accommodation called The Bull
Ring five kilometres further up the road. As I had so many messages to
answer it turned into an hour-long break. An hour later upon arriving
at the Bull Ring Cafe I paid for a fish and chips meal and enquired
about the accommodation. It was 55 dollars per room, per night.
Obviously, that's a bargain when there are a couple of people wanting
to share but not for me. When I asked Lance the friendly owner if he
could give me a discount, it seemed that he just couldn't do enough
for me. Kind man that he is, he not only gave me a complimentary room
but refunded me my dinner money. He also upgraded my dinner with a
salad, an extra fish and an energy drink. The Bull Ring accommodation
is not only spotless but spacious, luxurious and has a self-catering
kitchen. So, that night after my short 15-kilometre day I rested up in
luxury!

Later I had an interesting chat with Lance. He wasn't always in this
business. Now 56 years old he worked on farms for 40 years, managing
for 30. The last job he had was managing a 45,000 mixed stock farm
(cows and sheep) When the farm was sold he wondered what to do for the
rest of his life. That's when he bought the Bull Ring. It was in bad
condition but he totally refurbished it. Now married to Paradee, his
Thai wife, they have a six-year-old son.
Lance is a stickler for detail and works extremely hard to get repeat
business. I was sipping a drink that man called Andrew bought me. Just
then Lance asked me if I wanted an ice cream, and of course, I did! He
returned with a super-duper sized boysenberry ice cream cone. "That's
what many of my customers come back for. I have gotten miserably small
ice creams in other places that I will never return to. To make an
extra large dollop of ice cream costs just cents, so why shouldn't I
give it to them?
"Its this same with our toastie sandwiches. We give three slices of
bread with our toast sandwiches, after all, a slice of bread only
costs about ten cents and they always leave feeling satisfied.
"There are a lot of little things that I do that customers notice. For
example, we never serve food on a cold plate, we always heat the plate
up before putting food on it as that keeps the food hot."
Then he told me something astonishing that I haven't heard before. It
seems that the New Zealand government has an ambitious plan to make
the country smoke-free by 2025. Yes, cigarettes will be totally
banned. I guess this is helped by the fact that the country is a
couple of thousand kilometres away from Australia, its nearest major
neighbour. There are a few Pacific Island countries which are
marginally nearer. There is good money in cigarettes as the cost of a
pack of 20 can be as much as 25-30 dollars and the cost of restocking
the vending machine costs 15,000 dollars fortnightly, with about a ten
percent mark up.


                  *
Come on Eileen!
I walked about two kilometres down the road and stopped to sit down on
an irresistible grassy ledge to check my emails. Just then a friendly
woman called Eileen came out to check her mailbox. She is originally
from Derbyshire in England and her family moved here seventy years
ago.
"I'm really a Kiwi now Tony. It's a different world now"
I got invited in for the coffee that I was longing for this morning
and not to mention a bowl of much forgotten Shreaded WheatI chatted
with Eileen and her husband John who is also from Derbyshire, they met
when Eileen's family went back for a holiday when she was 17. Upon
parting, she said to him "I will see you in ten years time as it's a
six-week ship journey via South Africa.
After many letters, he came out six months later and eighteen months
later they married. They just celebrated 55 years married.
After two coffees Eileen took the jar of coffee back inside. Jokingly,
I asked her to go get it! I noticed she didn't take away the jar after
that, but I did refuse a fourth! I needed to walk on, a lovely chat,
thanks so much Eileen and John. I always believe in slowing down and
to live in the moment. One parting comment from John: " Tony looks a
bit like my brother Frank!"
So I asked if Frank lives nearby.
"No, He is dead!"
So, I guess I look like death warmed up!
 I stopped for a snack at a shady entrance to a farm. As I was taking
off my backpack I got a smack off the electric fence I was sitting
beside. Not much, just an unpleasant jolt! That day I arrived in
Tokoroa town with 20 kms walked. After a stop in a Subway restaurant,
I decided to take a 14-kilometre route via backroads, thereby
bypassing the town and getting off the busy highway for three hours.
It was only a kilometre longer than the highway route. Later I camped
on a farm, 27 kms walked.