North Island of NZ

Hey guys -

Hope you are all good, We have not updated in a while and have done loads so it is not going to be to detailed.

The next day we went to Auckland musuem which was a really nice walk through parks and the in the museum you learned a lot about Maori people which was really interesting. In the evening we watched movies and chilled with a few people we had met on the tour of Auckland - we are trying to save money hence not going out.

The next day was the first day on the kiwi bus. We met everyone and they are a really nice group. We went to see Mt Eden which is a volcano and has really good veiws of the city from it. We then took a walk down to this gorgous beach - which was lovely but I really wished I could sunbathe. It was however a really lovely clear day so the views were beautiful. In the evning when we arrived at Mercury Bay we went to a really posh spa to go in the naturally heated hot pools. It was so warm - so it made me happy but sophie said it was actually to hot. It was nice sitting there and chatting to everyone and having a few drinks.

The next day was a pretty disastrous day - we got up really early to get on the bus and head to Rotorua but about an hour in to the journey our coach broke down in the middle of no where for about three hours. Luckily there was a pub 10 minutes walk down the road so we set up there till a replacement bus came. When we got to Rotorua we went to a Maori cultural show which was actually really good. We saw them do the Haka and loads of other dancers and one of our group had to be a cheif and take part in a few things. We also saw what an old village would of been like and how they made clothes etc. They also fed us really well and cooked the food underground which was pretty cool. The highlight of the night was definatly the Maori guys who had amazing bodies and very little clothing. LOL

Today we got up and went to Te Puia which is a thermal park and maori cultural centre. We learned more about there peoples way of life but also got to see some bubbling mud and a huge geyser exploding form the ground whcih was pretty amazing. It was an absolutly freezing cold day but they had built some concrete seats in to the ground which were naturally heated by the hot springs so we sat on there for ages. It was lush. We also saw a kiwi bird there which are the wierdest looking things ever and are becoming extinct because they are flightless birds so have huge amounts of predators. When we got to our destination we got ready to go blackwater rafting which was the funniest thing ever. Basically involved abseiling 35 meters down into a cage (at some points through tiny little gaps). We then went down a flying fox or zip wire thing in the pitch black cause they told us to turn our lights on our heads of so we could see the gloworms. We then had to jump down into freezing cold water in the rubber ring (the water was so cold it took my breathe away) and then we had to swim through all the caves and saw all the glowworms which were amazing. My hands did feel like they were going to drop of though. Next we had to climb up to waterfalls which was really fun and by the time we got outside again it was night time. When we got back we had a drink before we went out to a bar called Curlys Bar and our room turned up completely drunk. We had such a good time though - we ended up behind the bar drinking out of the taps and getting a free t shirt. It was a good night.

Today we drove to Taupo. We stopped of at a place called Huka falls which is an amzing grade 6 rapid. Taupo lake is huge and so pretty but the actual town is actually quite strange the shops all look like charity shops and sell the wiredest selection of things and the people are a bit nuts. We were all pretty unable to function so we ended up eating wedges in a fish and chip shop and then watching a film. In the evening me and Charlotte went out to an Irish pub with everyone and it ended up being a really good evening. We got brought a lot of jager bombs and ended up in bed at 5 in the morning. I was in trouble because I woke everyone up when we came back by singing lady ga ga. Opps

Today we layed in till luch time and then went and had a huge lunch before walking to some atural hot spring to have a dip. It was actually quite wierd sitting in a stream when it is freezing cold outside and being warm. We also saw a zip wire there and thought it was a good idea to go on that to. In the evening we wen to the same bar as the night before last but it was quite quiet so we went to a different one.

Today we had to get on the bus with yet another hangover. We went to do a walk around soem of the lord of the rings filming areas. It took two hours but was worth it the views are amazing and NZ has some of the prettiest scenary I have ever seen. We saw the stream where Gollum got the fish out of which was pretty cool and a huge waterfall which was half frozen. It was our first proper sighting of snow on the mountains as well. That night we stayed in a place called river vally which is in the middle of no where in a freezing cold lodge so we just chilled the whole night chatting in the hostel. We slept in this huge bed that night with everyone in it - it was very wierd but cheeper and warmer.

The next day we headed to Wellington - we stopped of at a place called Bull - which has to have Bull incorporated into the name of every shop in the town. Wierd. When we got there we went and got a bargain pizza and then had a drink in the hostel before going out to a bar and having a really good night of dancing - and I hardly brought myself one drink. Score.

Anyway I hope you are all well and sorry the blog is so long we have not had a lot of time.

Miss you all loads x x x

PS - slightly hungover/still pissed whilst righting this so excuse any mistakes spelling etc

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