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Published: October 5th 2008
Gidday from New Zealand!
I'm sitting in an internet cafe at the moment taking shelter from the cold winds of New Zealand. I thought New Zealand was meant to be warm, but finding out that it can get quite chilly in places! Maybe I shouldn't have worn my shorts today...
Well we've been in New Zealand for just about a week now and have a new member on our travels..."Bijou" our campervan! At first it was weird driving a van, but it actually drives quite easily..apart from the up hills, but then we're in no rush! Our campervan is small, but has everything we need. It's actually quite handy driving round with your bed in the back. Whenever you feel tired you can just stop and have a snooze!
Our first stop after picking up the campervan was a drive up north to the Bay of Islands, so called due to the hundred islands or so in the bay. We went on a boat tour and were lucky to have a group of dolphins follow our boat for part of the trip. I love dolphins...they always seem so friendly and happy.
Next stop was the Waitomo caves
(we decided to do Auckland on our way back). The limestone formations were interesting, but the highlight was a boat tour in the river in the moutain with the hundreds of glow worms on the ceiling of the cave.
We then drove to Rotorua and stayed there for two nights. Rotorua has been my favourite place so far although is does smell of sulphur (due to all the geothermal activity there) and I am convinced that I still smell of it (yes I have washed since...!). We went to see a sheep show which was fun. I also got on stage and had a go at milking a cow! It felt very weird, but at least now I can say I've done it. Next activity in Rotorua was a vist to "Hells Gate" to see the geothermal lakes and mud pools. Was very hot! and we made sure we stuck to the path that they had set out amongst all the boiling rocks! We also went to the natural mud baths there. Was a bit goo-ey and didnt help with the sulphur smell, but my skin felt so smooth afterwards. We also got some "fun" photos due to an
over enthusiatic worker there who made us pose to take photos there.
In the evening we went on another touristy attraction...Te Puia. This is a show and dinner event designed to give you some background to the maori (native new zelanders) culture. Simon had a go at the Hakka...shouting, stomping feet and tongue showing and all! and I had a go at this ball, dance thing that the women do apparently. Was fun. There were also lots of people with their faces tattooed, which I believe is part of the Maori culture, but i can't help staring!
After that fun packed day, we got back in the campervan for the journey south to Napier (Hawkes Bay wine land), stopping at Lake Taupo for some good photos. Aside from being beautiful, Napier also seemed to have the perfect weather. It was sunny and hot and we even had a barbeque last night when we were there.
We caught a local rugby match at Napier and saw the Magpies (Hawkes Bay team) win against the Steamers (Bay of Plenty) 44-12. Had the song "Come on the Bay, Come on the Bay, Black ,White, alright, Come on the Bay!) in
my head for hours after!
We also went on a wine tour yesterday. Was an interesting wine tour as it also involved tasting ice cream (Hokey Pokey is apparently the famous flavour of ice cream to have here and it is delicious!), cheese, and olives! Was a fun day out though and the wine wasn't too bad either.
And that brings us up to today. We woke up early for our drive to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. We have just visited the Te Papa museum for a bit of culture and after a bit of a walk in the town we've sat down to check our emails.
I'm getting a bit hungry now though, so the next stop is some dinner!
Hope everyone is well. x
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