First two weeks in NZ

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Your intrepid duo arrived at Auckland in the Land of the Kiwi well before dawn on a very wet Monday morning (10 October) ... well how would you feel with another month of holiday ahead of you!! We were met by Jeni (Pete's sister) who was doing her best to sport bright eyes & a bushy tail at the unearthly hour!

After a couple of days catching up with ourselves (we never found Sunday 9 October - that was lost somewhere between Santiago & Auckland!) & seeing some of the beautiful surrounds of Auckland with Jeni, we headed off in our hire car to Rotoroa - everyone has to go to this place as its where geothermal activity evidences itself with hot water springs, geysers, boiling mud, steam venting from the ground all over the place ... quite a phenomenon but way too commercialised we thought. Anyway we had a mudbath & went to a 'hangi' (traditional Maori feast involving much dancing, singing & eating - the latter involving food cooked in the ground!). As first time visitors to NZ, it was the incredible volcanic landscapes that we drove through that impressed most - lush pastures with steep hills & mountains everywhere.

We drove on to meet up with Jeni for a week-end on the Coromandel Peninsula ... we actually stayed in what was called a 'beach hut' but would have passed for a luxury beach house where we come from. Not wishing to waste words we'd simply say that if you come to NZ, spend a few days in this idyllic place.

After Coromandel we did a quick circuit of the North island which involved driving to Napier on the east coast (again terrific scenery was in abundance ... and the vineyards suggest that this part of the New World will easily lead the world shortly), then a couple of days 'tramping' (hiking) in Tongariro National Park - scenery just awesome & the centrepieces of which are 3 (in-?)active volcanos ... they behaved themselves while we were there but have amused the locals with several fiery shows in recent years and, finally, before returning to Auckland, we visited the glow-worm caves ... these were most impressive (tip: go early in the morning, as we did but more by luck than good judgement).

Another relaxing week-end this time in Auckland then ensued, only disrupted by our flight south to Christchurch on Sunday lunchtime ... more of that in our next missive ....

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