Today was another travel day.

My alarm was set for 6:30 as I needed to be on the InterCity bus at 7:30. Similar to waking early or not sleeping well for fear of missing a flight, I was awake before 6:00 (slept fine, though).

At 10:00a, we visited Waitomo Glowworm Caves. I was really looking forward to this tour stop, and I ended up…. underwhelmed. The glowworms were indeed beautiful, but they were neither as plentiful nor as vibrant as the photos on the site, plus our group was in and out of the tour in 40 minutes, so I left feeling like, “That’s it?” Which kind of makes me feel like an asshole tourist, but there it is.

After a few more stops for some folks on the bus to do other tours, I arrived in Rotorua at 2:00pm, and my Airbnb host graciously offered to pick me up to take me to her listing.

I thought I might spend the evening at the Polynesian Spa, but as the afternoon went on while I got settled, I was feeling pretty burnt. Out of my 4 full days here, 3 have been InterCity bus travel days. Which is how I arranged my trip.. it’s just caught up with me now. And while I slept well last night, I didn’t sleep enough.

I opted for takeout (again!) from a nearby joint called, appropriately enough, Uncle Lee’s Takeaway (how they say it here, as in the UK). As I walked from my Airbnb home away from home through a residential neighborhood in Rotorua, New Zealand, to pick up my dinner, I smiled with giddiness at my independence and wanderlust.

I’m staying a luxurious 3 nights here. I look forward to a restful evening and 2 full days to explore Rotorua.