Auckland - Wellington

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The story begins of the first leg of my kiwi experience bus. It has its good and bad points. I've been to some really nice places and been given the chance to do loads of activities (budget whats that!!!lol). Also met loads of new people. On the down side i have about 8-10yrs on most of the others!!!

Oh forgot to say what I got up to in Auckland before hopping on the bus! The main highlights were the Art museum and the Sky Tower. The museum was completely different to what I'd expected but good to see NZ artists' work. Not a very big place either, however I did just look around the new building as the main gallery was shut. Sky tower was fab. I went up it late afternoon so I could see the city in daylight and darkness. It was a greta place to chill as the sun went down with the hustling city below.

1st day on the bus took me back to the Coromandel which felt a bit strange. Cathedral Cove wasn't the same with 50 other people but still very beautiful! We stayed at one the best hostels I've stayed in so far, the Turtle Dove in Whitianga. The good thing about the bus is the stunning places is stops throughout the day so you can get out and stretch you legs and get some freshair.

Had a really interesting night in Rotorua at a Maori Cultural Hangi and Concert. Although its not an actual living village it was interesting to see the Maori culture and hertitage. We also visited the Geothermal pools & gysers, getting to see a Kiwi! They're much bigger than I expected!!

Waitomo isn't very big and doesn't have much to offer other than Black Water rafting and caving. I did the Black Absys which was amazing. I abseiled into the cave, took a zip-wire in the dark to see the glow worms, then jumped into freezing cold water to float through the caves before climbing back out up two waterfalls. Absolutely wicked!!

Wellington was great. Lots to do and most of it was free (even better!!) I think it has a great feel for a city. I took the cable car up to the Botanic gardens where I ambled back down to the city through the beautiful gardens. I also walked up Mt Victoria so I could take in the city from above. Te Papa museum was wiccked. Spent a few hours there! It had several floors with themes from volcano's and earthquakes to the changing formation of land in NZ, to art & sculpture, to an outdoor area planted with native trees and cave formations. not forgetting all the Maori artifacts & history. Glad I spent a couple of days in Wellington, a good end to the North Island.

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