New Zealand

---

Arrived in Auckland and the first thing we did was go to Burger King for real food - we had a lot of 'meat' in Fiji but none of it was ever called beef so we were really not sure what we ate - there were a lot of dogs roaming around !!

Only stayed in Auckland for the night to sort ourselves out before heading off to explore the North Island. First stop in Dorris was Lake Taupo, which was really spectacular but so cold !! While in Taupo we went jet boating to the Huka Falls which was brilliant fun and at times quite scary as they perform 360 degree turns beside the cliffs.

Next it was time to travel to smelly Rotorua, which I nicknamed 'egg city'. We stopped off at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland which was pretty cool but smelt so bad !! The next day it was time for some none smelly activities and there are no shortage of mad things to do in NZ. This time it was off up the Sky Gondala to go luging ... it was like being a big kid again ! Then it was time for some well deserved R&R at the Polynesian Spa (we are definitely turning into Flashpackers!). It is actually really cheap to go into the spa, which is full of outdoor thermal mineral baths. You can also stay for as long as you like, but when the water temperature is 39 degrees it's pretty hard to stay in the water for long without passing out! While in Rotorua we thought we should do something a bit more cultural so we went to a Maori concert by the Mitai tribe which was great fun and we got to learn some funky dance moves !

The next day we were on the move again to Waitomo, which is famous for its caves and glow worms. We had booked to do a black water rafting tour and looking back it might have been a good idea to actually read the brochure more carefully and find out exactly what was involved in the tour before booking it !! Luke loved it but I was never so glad to see daylight and for it to be over! You are underground for about an hour and at the start you enter through the smallest little hole and then scramble over rocks and wade through the freezing water. When it gets deep you get into a rubber ring and float along looking at the glow worms. This is all fine until you reach the waterfalls where you have to jump backwards with your ring off the waterfall into a big black hole of water - not my idea of fun so the guide ended up having to push me off the waterfall, otherwise I would still be there !! Luke on the other hand was only dying to jump off - I think its a boy thing !

After our short trip around the North Island it was time to make our way back to Auckland. We have been having slight withdrawal symptoms from the lack of rugby matches we have been at, so on Friday night we put our Munster jersey's on and went to a Super 14 match between the Hurricanes and the Blues in Eden Park. Wherever you go you find other Irish backpackers and before we had even left the hostel we had gathered a few Leinster supporters ! The match was brilliant craic and a really good game to watch - the boys particularly liked the half time entertainment - not sure you would see these girls in Croke Park !!

The last of our sporting activities in Auckland was a trip on the NZ 41 America's Cup boat ! For once we were really lucky with the weather and had a great afternoon sailing around Auckland harbour on a very cool yacht !! We both got a chance to drive her and do a bit of grinding - not sure if we will get a call up for the next America's Cup though !

Although our time in NZ was short, we have had a ball ! We are however packed up again and off to South America this evening !

---