Some fun in the North Island

---

We have just spent nearly 3 weeks exploring the North Island of NZ. There is so much to do and we are told there is even more to do in the South but here is a snapshot of what have got up to so far........

Our first stop in NZ is the sunny harbour city of Auckland. It is an extremely cosmopolitan city and the largest in NZ. We found ourselves a hostel in the centre so that we could explore the city by foot. The main attraction is the Sky Tower which looks out over the city and harbour. Pretty cool and in proper NZ style you can do a bungy jump from it. This we thought we could save until later on in our trip! The rest of Auckland is like most cities and the main attraction is the harbour and wonderful sailing boats that we can only sit back and admire.

From Auckland we took a short ferry ride to Waiheke Island which is NZ's Isle of Wight (so we thought), very quiet and the beaches are far nicer than the Isle of Wight but it had that feel about it. It is well known for it's winerys and art. It has a micro-climate so is always a bit warmer than Auckland. We took the local bus whilst on the island and found ourselves at a bit of a loss as to what to do here as it wasn't quite warm enough to jump in the sea and for some reason we couldn't just chill out so we took in the scenery and headed back to Auckland within a few hours.

We decided that the best way to explore the north island would be to hire a car. Very different from our car hire experience in America. The white nissan pulsar has served us very well and we soon learned that most people drive old bangers out here so we fitted in well. We head a few hours north of Auckland to the Bay of Islands to a small town called Paihia. We landed on our feet with the accomodation, with the hostel guy offering us a house in the mountain which turned out to be real luxory. We decided to do a dolphin trip the next day in the pursuit of swimming with some wild dolphins. This was very much to my excitement (and it will happen soon), but this time we weren't able to jump in the sea as the dolphins we saw had some babies with them. There are so many regulations involved in being able to swim with them that the odds really aren't in your favour. I took about a hundred photos of the sea, as it was very difficult to capture the dolphins jumping out of the sea.

Finishing up in Paihia we drove back down past Auckland on the West Coast through some stunning forrests, stopping off to see a very old Kauri tree which is quite famous in NZ. We ended up stopping for a bit at Bayleys Beach and hired a quad to ride along the deserted beach. Having driven down to the beach you can literally pull up in front of the sea and take a quick dip and run out again to your car. If this was in England you wouldn't be able to see the sand for cars but here in NZ, it seems you can have the beach to yourself! We drove on the quad for half hour each way, still seeing no end either side.

With so much to see and do we didn't want to hang around up in the Bay of Islands so we promtly drove down to Waitomo Caves to go and check out the much talked about glow worms! We stayed at a local hostel for the night ready to explore the caves the next day. We read in our good old faithful lonley planet that if you go out at night to a bridge near one of the cave entrances on your own you will spot some glow worms. We decided that this was a good idea and drove to the spot. Well it was pitch black and we took a walk into the bush going the wrong way. I have to say i'm not into re-living blair witch and became a right scaredy cat. We eventually found the correct bridge and to our delight saw quite a few glow worms (really just glowing maggots!) but little did we know that our knowledge of glow worms was to greatly increase the next day!!!! (if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask!) They are unique to New Zealand and look pretty cool.

So we book oursleves in the next day for a double cave combo! 1) The world famous Glowworm cave and 2) The Raikori cave.

We weren't allowed to take pictures in the glow worm cave to share with you but it really is pretty amazing to see. It is like seeing a galaxy of a thousand stars above you. You start of with a tour of the cave and all jump in a boat in the pitch black to see the majority of the glow worms.

Our next stop is Roturua. Before we share this with you, we just have to mention driving in New Zealand is very different to any driving we have experienced before. They don't really have proper motorways and the main roads from town to town are windy,

So we head there and find a very clean hostel. However being in a geothermal area we soon realised that the whole of Roturua smells like a bad fart! It is the sulphur apparantly, and it is good for your sinuses but that didn't encourage us to inhale too deeply. The smell was particularly the worst when you wake up to what seems like a mist of sulpher in your room at 5 in the morning, and can't get back to sleep as it is so intense. I may have been overacting but we both found it pretty bad! Anyway the plus side to this whole geothermal activity is the bubbling mud and random hot springs. There is a park in the city where you can see all this for free but we decided to visit Hell's Gate just outside to see some really big thermal areas. We decided against the mud spa as the sulpher smell stays with you for days, even weeks!!! Not what we wanted!!!

Whilst in Roturua we went to a Mauri "concert". This involved a show and a meal from a local mauri family. In New Zealand the ancestors of a Mauri family try and keep the culture alive by sharing it with tourists. So we saw them arrive on a canoe and put on a tribal dance for us, and then enjoyed a hangi meal. This is dinner that is cooked underground. This was our first experience of NZ lamb and boy was it tasty with mint sauce all over it. We ate from the buffet until we felt sick, as you would expect from us!!

Our next place to visit is Lake Taupo, NZ's largest lake and an adventure wonderland for those adrenalin junkies out there. Much to my delight ross decided to do a bungy and I of course had to be around to take pictures so decided that only one of us would do it!!! That's my excuse anyway!!! I was so nervous waiting for Ross to do it. (he looked very calm!!??) The queue was about an hour long, and I was poised with the camera anticipating the jump. To put you in the picture, there is a 20metre extended walkway above the lake, and then you jump for 47 metres over the lake! So many people hung around on the edge and I felt so nervous for them, you could smell the fear!!! I was so proud of Ross as he just got the edge and jumped with only a roar of what sounded like he was having fun! He came back with a big grin on his face and we decided that he should do the 147 metre jump in Queenstown next as he made that look far too easy. Like the way I say "we" decided! It was more me saying you must do it, and Ross rising to the challange!! Ha ha watch this space. We can't wait!!!!......

Whilst in taupo we hired a kayak and went out together on a double. I was more of a hindrance than a help as didn't want to get a wet bum! Bit difficult when you are splashing paddles around in a lake, but it was fun all the same.

We are now in the South Island, having got the very picturesque ferry from Wellington to Picton. At present we are trundling down the west coast on some very windey roads and very small towns. Some with only 10 people living in them. Well one town apparantly had inhabitants of 2!!! It is crazy to see the vastness of land and so few ppl. We feel at one with the mountains, sheep, cows, rivers and sky as that is all you see when you are driving for miles and miles!!! Seeing all those healthy looking cows grazing the land can make you very hungry!!!

You will be pleased to know it is absolutely chucking it down with rain today so Ross did an indoor ice climb. He made it look easy like the bungy and I'm beginning to think he has super powers!!! We are in Franz Josef and have seen the glacier from afar and deciding how we are going to get closer, be it by air or foot!

---