This is the bus that I took to Rotorua. It was about a 6 hour trip through the countryside with stops in several towns. I took the bus to move on out of Auckland. Rotorua was the next stop on my itinerary. The bus was comfy but the driver was kind of a jerk. He got onto some guy for bringing a sandwich on the bus and when I asked him a question he said “Can’t you see that I’m busy?” I wanted to retort that I could but wondered why he thought that anything he was doing was more important than providing customer service. Luckily, I only paid $1 AUD (about 70 cents) for the trip.

This is the McDonald’s I stopped at to work on some Wi-Fi issues I was having. I’ve found that food is more expensive in New Zealand than in the U.S. That applies to Micky D as well. While I didn’t get my Wi-Fi issues solved I did find that I could get a Senior Coffee in New Zealand just like I did in the U.S. and, what’s even better, it was free at this McDonald’s. I like free. I don’t know if a Senior Coffee is free at all McDonald’s in New Zealand but I’m going to try and find out.

This is the PAK’nSAVE I found across the street from the McDonald’s. I took the opportunity to get some instant coffee, some instant noodles, some chocolate and a cheap bottle of soda pop for dinner. Actually, the noodles and chocolate will last several days and the coffee will last me a couple of weeks. Little expenditures like this dramatically help me to control my costs even though they aren’t as satisfying nutritionally or psychologically as a meal at a nice restaurant.