Homeward bound

Welcome back to our blog, sadly we are approaching the end of our adventure now so this will probably be the last update until we get home. First let us tell you about the last 2 weeks we've spent in North Island, New Zealand.

We flew from Christchurch in the South Island to Auckland in the North on a clear sunny day, the views of the mountains and volcanoes from the plane were superb (well I thought so anyway, Becka didn't get much of a view with my face stuck to the window). Auckland itself is not really like the rest of New Zealand, it's big, busy (in NZ standards) and theres a lot of high rises. It's ok though, not as bad as a lot of Kiwi's would have you believe.

We only had one night in Auckland where we stayed in a prison like hostel in the city centre before picking up our new, not as good as the last one, campervan. It was nice enough but the rooms were kind of depressing with no windows looking out and feeling rather stuffy. To get away from this we went for a walk down to the harbour and somehow ended up in a Russian vodka bar called the Lenin Bar. It wasn't really very Russian and we didn't drink any vodka but it was pretty nice. After a few drinks here we thought it would be a good idea to go to the -5 Bar next door. They seem to have these in a lot of the bigger cities around the world but it was the first time we'd been in one. Basically its a bar in a freezer, with everything made out of ice, including the furniture and glasses. You're only allowed in for half an hour and we were the only 2 in there but after a couple of vodka cocktails we didn't really care.

BAY OF ISLANDS

The drive out of Auckland was pretty easy considering it is a city and most cities are a nightmare to drive in. We headed North and stopped off at a place called Goat island. Apparently there have never been any goats there just pigs but the first settlers called it goat island because they used to leave animals on small islands around NZ as food for any boats which got stranded nearby. We pottered around for a bit looking at the fish which you could see very clearly through the waters and then headed for our next port of call at Pakiri beach. The campsite was right on the beach front so we couldn't of had a better view of the sea from our camper if we tried. Si and I went for a walk on the beach where we saw three new mini's chasing each other in the sand which we thought was rather strange even by NZ standards but as we carried on walking we then saw a filmset where we were asked to move out of the way as we were just about to be stared in a new film (damn it could have been our claim to fame!). Unfortunately we forgot to ask what the film was called so we can only guess that maybe it could be Italian Job 3? After a pleasant stay on the beach we hopped back into our green mean camping machine and headed north again.

We were intrigued about the famous NZ kauri tree so we nipped into the Kauri Tree museum which was very informative but pretty boring. It was basically about how the first settlers in NZ mined the Kauri tree and Kauri gum.....say no more. After a bit of education we headed to Paihia where the campsite was on the beach again. Paihia has lots of funky arty shops which are great for browsing around (well I found it fun, si probably thinks otherwise?) and doing a spot of shopping. After plodding around town for a bit we carried on our mission and headed further north to Keri keri. We stayed in a rearly nice campsite right by the rivers edge however where there is water there is insects galore and we know how much they like to bite becka. The campsite also smelt of poo at night, possibly because we were on top of a cess pit for the campsites toilets! We decided to walk into town and visit a few of the lonely planet's recommended cafes however it was a sunday and NZ seems to close on a sunday (and on a week day nothing is open past 4pm). Luckly we had stocked up on booze and so we drank and played cards till nightfall.

We decided as time was of the essence we couldn't go any further north and so we headed south. We stopped off at Mangawhai Heads where si was fighting with the lonely planet guide book as every campsite it suggested seemed to have disappeared. We popped into town (which consisted of three shops and a cafe) to ask a local where the nearest campsite was. We found out that there was a really nice one just around the corner which was....you guessed...was right on the beach.

Our next stop was at Waiwera a thermal resort just outside Auckland. We made full use of the thermal spa right next door to the campsite. They had around 9 pools (incl a movie pool!) with all varying temperatures ranging from 28c to 48c. I (becka) dipped my hand in the 48c pool and it felt like I was pouring a kettle all over my hand. I didn't stop there though, i thought it would be a good idea to stick my leg in it which was a silly idea indeed as I nearly got third degree burns. Why the pool is there I have no idea as no one could possibly get in it and bare the intense heat.

COROMANDEL PENINSULA

We stayed one night in Coromandel town where the bars normal closing time seems to be around 9pm. We did manage to get one drink in though before heading back to our shitty van. We can probably imagine how stir crazy we are getting with being couped up in our small van. Cabin fever comes to mind.

The next day we went to Hahei where we walked to Cathedral Cove which was the first bit of exercise we have had in a long time and we then stopped off at MT Manganui.

ROTORUA

We got to Rotorua (which smells of eggs) and booked ourselves on a walking tour to the Tarawera volcano which was last active in 1886. We drove up to the top of the crater and waked down the scree which involved a lot of sliding which fortunately for us didn't end with us landing on our bums. The next day we hired mountain bikes in the Whakarewarewa forest, the number one place for mountain biking trails in NZ. We thought we would take things easy and start off on the beginners trail which wasn't easy at all. It had dropoffs 3 feet tall which becka did not find funny seeing as she nearly went arse over tit. We spent two hours biking around an assault course, lots of banked corners, jumps, tree roots, loads of drops and sharp bends which we weren't really prepared for (well becka wasn't seeing she was biking in a dress). It was hard but none-the-less muchos fun. Comletely out of breath we headed to Lake Taupo.

We didn't really do much in Lake Taupo other than walking to Huka falls and chillin by the pool soaking up the rays.

Our last stop before seeing Rachael and Dave in Raglan was WAITOMO. We booked ourselves on a 150ft night abseil in one of the Waitomo caves where Si tested his nerves being suspended by a single rope over such a massive drop. The guide proved how deep the drop was by dropping a branch over the side and waiting for the sound of it to hit the floor. It was a long wait before we heard anything, this just made Si more nervous. All I can say is thank goodness it was dark and si couldn't see the bottom. After much encouragement si finally slid off the platform and three off us absailed down through caves lit up by thousands of glow worms and passing lots of spiders walking around in the cracks of the cave wall. Once we got going Si was fine and lost the fear until he discovered the only way out was back up a ladder. Because it was so high you couldn't have one ladder going all the way to the top so it was split into 4 sections but that was still pretty scary. Thankfully we were wearing harnesses and so if we did slip off the worst thing that would happen would be banging our shins against the ladder. Once we got to the top we had another go, this time without using the head torches on our helmets. The glow worms looked even more amazing, like being in a star galaxy and once we got to the bottom we finally saw a live possum (up until then we'd only seen them as roadkill).

We arrived at Raglan (apparently Raglan has the largest left hand break in the world if you're into surfing) on a hot sunny day and decided to book ourselves a surf lesson. We managed to get one that same afternoon and after over half an hour of theory we were let loose on the waves. The waves were pretty big here, not like anything myself or Becka had tried to surf on before but not wanting to blow my own trumpet I was the first one in the group onto the board! :) We spent a good few hours battling against the waves and Becka managed to come off the surf board and get smacked in the head by it which was pretty painful. We both had a great few hours but it was hard work, I am now aching all over.

After the surf lesson we hooked up with Rachael and Dave who were kind enough to let us stay at their place. Their house has great views of the sea and is in walking distance of the town (very jealous!). We went out to dinner with them and a few of their friends in town where Becka was more than happy as she got to have one of her cravings (veggi roast dinner). It was great catching up with them and seeing how life in Raglan has been treating them (far too well).

The next day we took full advantage of having a clean shower, washing machine, free internet and somewhere to pack our bags (which are getting heavier by the minute) and prepare ourselves for the Cook Islands. We also managed to squeeze in a cake and coffee in town. I do believe we are having pizza for din dins? Must go as Rach and Dave have just got back from work.

See you when we get back from LA.

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