The North Island

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Arrived in Wellington and after a slight struggle, managed to find our way out of the docks, we rocked up at our hostel and slept!! The next morning we embarked on a long drive up the middle of the island to Turangi. We were extremely impressed with our choice of hostel, a band new homely little abode with the most gorgeous dog and the most comfy bed I have slept in since leaving 10a. Our plan was to conquer the
Tongariro Crossing (a very popular 8 hour walk through the Tongariro National Park) the next day, however due to a rubbish weather forecast, we decided to postpone the hefty walk in favour of the following day when the sun was due to shine. This meant an extra night in paradise, so we weren’t too bothered. So the next day we took a day trip up to Taupo where we checked out Huka Falls, the man made rapids (where a dam had been build preventing the flow of water down a canyon, so every few hours the dam opens slightly to allow enough water through to create some rapids and entertain the tourists) and Craters of the Moon (a thermal area where the ground fizzles and great clouds of steam rise out of natural craters).

The next morning we rose very early to catch the 7.30 bus to the start of the Crossing. I had been feeling quite unsure about this whole day as a 8 hours walk up a volcano sounded like a great deal of hard work to me but I had been the one to suggest to Sarah that we should give it a whirl and there was no way she was going to let me back out. So we set off with numerous others equipped with 5 liters of water and a picnic to feed a family of 6. The terrain began reasonable flat for the first hour but then we began to climb, up and up and up. I think as I had been dreading this climb so much, it wasn't quite as bad as I anticipated. The views were amazing the higher we got and with enough water breaks we reached the top (or what we thought was the top). Rounding a bend we saw the top and once again climbed, climbed and climbed. Once we finally reached the highest we were going to go, the view of Mt Ngauruhoe, an extremely impressive looking volcano was amazing. On the other side we could see turquoise blue lakes (Emerald Lakes) which look almost unreal in the photos. We then slipped and slide down a very steep gravel path which was actually much fun, we didn't fall once. After a spot of lunch, there was another small climb and then down for the next 3 hours. Once we started heading down, we got a good pace going and powered on managing to reach the end of the track by 3pm, meaning we completed the Crossing in just over 6 hours. We were very impressed with ourselves but after a very large meal and much ice cream, we were shattered!!!

The next day we drove on to Rotorua, most famous for its eggy smelling thermal areas. On the way we stopped off at Orakei Korako, a not so busy termal areas that is slightly off the beaten track. The sights were really quite bizarre, bubbling pools of boiling hot water naturally produced, colourful silica terraces (whatever they are!!!) and geysers that didn't want to perform for us. There was a really cool cave with steaming water at the bottom, you were meant to put your hand in the water and make a wish, but the water was so clear, people kept wadding in without realizing it. It was all quite surreal as none of the area looked real at all. That afternoon we reached Rotorua and heading out to the Zorbing site. Zorbing is basically where you slide into this huge soft plastic ball and roll down a hill. Me and Sarah were in a ball together and they put water in too, and we rolled down the hill slipping around inside the ball. Its really quite tame as the hill is smooth, but we giggled very loudly all the way down and it was much fun. That evening we went to a Maori Experience evening which consisted of learning more about their culture, a concert, dancing and singing, and then a huge feast. It was really interesting and watching the warriors do the Haka (war dance) was great, the food was fab too, ate a lot of pudding :o)

The next day we drove to Waitomo Caves and went on a Glow Worm tour. The limestone caves were quite impressive and sailing in the pitch black looking up at the tiny shining lights was cool. By this point though we were both really starting to feel the long drives and busy days, so were wilting considerabley. Our last destination before Auckland was a night in the Coromandel (the smaller peninsula at the north of the island). We had been told this was a very pretty coastline but the weather turned and it rained almost constantly so we did not get to appreciate the beauty. That night we had a power cut in the hostel so ended up nearly eating uncooked chicken by head torch light, fortunately the lights came back on before we had consumed too much. The weather continued to be crap the next day also, so we drove on to Auckland, checked into our hostel and picked Rich up from the airport.

The following day, 14th March 2007 - yes, a very important day, my birthday!!! We wandered into town, trying to avoid the sudden stormy showers, went up the Sky Tower and searched out a restaurant for that evening. Bekka and Stefan arrived in the afternoon and after a few glasses of wine we headed out to a Thai restaurant in town. Ate loads of yummy food and then a chocolate cake was produce, so ate a bit more. We attempted to go to a few bars but being a Wednesday evening, there really wasn't much going on. It was a really nice evening, Sarah and Rich refused to let me pay for anything which was very very nice of them.

A very emotional morning taking Sarah to the airport, it has been sooooo amazing having her here and we've just had such fun exploring the country together. I have 5 days until I fly out to Fiji, so me and Rich are heading up to the Bay of Islands for a couple of nights. He is yet to decide whether he is going to join me, Bekka and Stefan in Fiji, so we'll see.

So another country ticked off my list and am very much looking forward to the next..... xxx

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