Blogs from Mercury Bay, North Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 2

Today, after picking up some picnic supplies at Tairua, we set off to Hot Water Beach near Mercury Bay (Whitianga). This is at the NE coast of the North Island. The weather here reminds us very much of the British Autumn, all the trees are different colours and although it is cold, it's quite fresh so it's nice to walk around in (as long as its not raining). We made our way down to the beach, which was deserted. It was really beautiful with a mist coming up from the sea. We walked along and found a spot with steam coming up from the sand, so we began to dig and soon we found ourselves in a pool of thermal water!! Yey!! Parts of it were so hot we couldn't even stand in them. It was ... read more

We love New Zealand!! We only just arrived yesterday in Aukland, North Island, and quickly made arrangements to head out the next day. We are traveling on the Kiwi Experience Hop-on Hop off bus, really fun, with loads of backpackers from all over. What a blast! Everyone is excited and cool (and currently partying here at our Turltle Cove Youth Hostel). Our bus took us winding through the mountains - what spectacular views - steep green mountains, just stunning scenery!! We are a bit knackered after a day sea kayacking in Mercury Bay. We saw a few stingrays in shallow waters, kayacked around an island, and got a story about the area from our kayack guide. What a wonderful day. We pulled over mid-trip to Catherdral Cove where we had a Mochachino, enjoyed the views, walked ... read more

So off we go on our Kiwi Experience bus trip that we had booked in Oz. This is the only way to get around NZ if you want to take advantage of all the free stuff & have a guide telling you about the activities that are on offer each place you stop off. First of all I'll introduce you to 'the crew'. LJ is our driver, he is about 5' 1" and is completely mental. Wants everyone to participate, and clearly loves his country. Forces us to walk at every given opportunity, and has no concept of time! If he says 25 mins you can guarantee it's 45! But we love him, so I wont harp on. The back seat crew (whom of course we were part of) James P, James H, Mark (Moses), John, ... read more