North Island - Waitomo,Taupo,Wellington

We left Rotorua heading westwards to Waitomo, a tiny village with an enormous network of underground caves. We stopped for a sheep show along the way which was actually very entertaining regardless of its very unenthusiastic name. I was selected to go up on stage to milk a cow!.! - Only in NZ could they make that into a show! The scenery along the bus journey has started to become more amazing the further South we go. Rolling fields dotted with sheep and cattle surround the bus like a wavy sea. Whilst in Waitomo I tried out some black water rafting. This was amazing. We delved deep underground on rubber ring doughnuts dodging stalactites and floating down the subterranean networks using glow worms to light the route. Although the water was freezing, adrenaline was pumping when we got to jump backwards off a few small underground water falls! Meanwhile Nik visited the glow worm grotto to enjoy a display of literally thousands of the little neon creatures light up the underground cavern.

The following day we went on the Ruakuri Bushwalk just outside Waitamo. The lush forest, gushing streams and cave window views where a "sweet as" way to start the day. We then continued our journey to Taupo, situated on Lake Taupo, a super volcano crater lake larger than Singapore. Nik and I were keen to enjoy the calm lake scenery and snow capped distant mountains and left our "Base" hostel to enjoy a walk and hot chocolate on the shoreline. Everyone on our bus stayed at least 2 days in Taupo so everybody was out in the evening cashing in on numerous 2 4 1 drinks. Unfortunately we had planned to do the Tongariro Crossing Trek at the foothills of "Mt Doom" (In Lord of the Rings). However after having woken up at 5 am, we called to discover that the trek was cancelled due to bad weather. Instead we joined a large group for some Trout fishing on lake Taupo. The rods were already set up for us and we didn't get to strike any fish but it was cool to chill on the lake. Our group managed to catch 2 trout which were cooked perfectly back at the hostel and tasted delicious.

Back on the coach the next day and off to "River Valley," like an adventure resort located in the most scenic of hills rolling more than a fat man's double chin!. Full of sheep of course, which made it more picturesque and very typical of New Zealand! So, we travelled south from Taupo, stopping beside the lake for some stone skimming action and to take a look at the pumas stone washed up on the beach. We also took a walk nearby to Tongariro and Mt Doom to view Teranaki falls. The gingery bush lands surrounding the path proved to be a good camouflage for Nik to jump out and pummel some snowballs at us! We finally arrived at River Valley Lodge in the evening, it was like a farm house in the middle of nowhere. Facilities where rubbish and we struggled to cook a standard Bolognese in the crappy Kitchin. The night improved when I fleeced everyone at poker twice to win a whopping 20 bucks/8 quid! Whilst many chose the exhilarating riverine activities in the morning, a group of us decided to cross the river using a dodgy looking pulley seat for a walk for some nice views of the surrounding land. The ascent was very steep and we were disappointed to reach the top puffed out only to find the end point was in a forest rather than overlooking the views we had seeked. Instead a couple of us chilled a bit further down the valley wall with nice views of the grade 5 river rapids below. After lunch we travelled to New Zealand's capital, "Wellington." We passed through a township called "Bulls" where its trademark is to name its facilities to include the towns name. E.g. The police station is called "Costa-Bull," the local pub is called "Socia-Bull" etc!. We also passed Ka Pah Tee island where our Maori driver chanted songs and told stories of the fearsome Maori warriors who lived there in the past. In Wellington we stayed at the Cambridge Hotel, like many, cheaper than the main recommended option that the Kiwi Experience bus offers and seemingly a lot nicer. A load of rugby lads invited us to one of there parties, (Most likely because we had a few girls with us!) but they gave us so much booze for free and it was cool to chat with a few of the locals. Everyone seemed so friendly in Wellington.

We visited the national museum "Ta-Papa" on our spare day in Wellington, mainly because it was free, but they also had some cool stuff on show including a giant squid and the typical New Zealand cultural and Natural history. Then we took the cable car uphill for some nice views over the capital with its low rise buildings bounding the harbour. At the top of the hill was the Botanical gardens, so we walked through them and found a children's park for some exhilarating action.! Later that evening and after our pub meal we went bowling where Nik thrashed me (Not for the first time!) and our friend was quite literally the worst person I have seen at bowling!.!

The north island was brilliant. It was nice to grasp some Maori cultural as well as explore some of its environmental assets, adventurous activities and picturesque landscape... Bring on the South Island.

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