Kiwi experience :-) Week 1

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So...I left Melbourne on 11th Jan and said goodbye to the unnecessarily high temps of 46degC and landed in Auckland close to midnight but then due to them leaving half our luggage in Melbourne for the next flight to bring it took me an exceeding long time to get out of the airport and through what they term bio-security. But waiting on the other side, despite the late hour were Mike and Nicky (relatives of Jane, Roland, Sarah-Jane and Thomas). I was driven back to their house on north shore and met the boys, Ben (19) and David (17) who had definitely changed since I had last seen them possibly 10years ago!

The next morning Mike and Nicky took me to some of their favourite beaches and cafes on the north shore and then we got the ferry across the harbour to Auckland city, we wandered along the waterfront admiring the boats and expensive looking restaurants. We stopped for a drink at the viaduct before catching the ferry back and enjoying a meal with Ben, David and Ben's friend, who I have forgotten the name of, oops!

The next morning I was up early to join the kiwi experience bus! On this bus we headed to Paihia in The Bay of Islands. On arrival at Pipi Patch base hostel we checked in and then I set of with new friends Allen and Doug to the Wharf as we were of Dolphin spotting in the bay! It was an amazing trip, we found about 8 teenage bottlenose dolphins who hung around and wanted to play so...we all got in and played. Well tried to anyway, they were very very fast but came so close you could have touched them, if you were allowed and weren't going to scare them. We had to sing songs through our snorkels and swim about lots but it was great fun and I was amazed at how big they were and how close they came! :-) On the way back the 3 of us got off the boat at Russel and had a very quick wander around as there wasn't much there then we got the ferry back to the hostel and met our other room mates, one was Irish Paul and not sure about the others. That night we all headed to the hostel bar for a BBQ dinner which was good and Paul and John had been fishing so we also helped them eat their catch. John and Tracey were a young couple on their honeymoon in New Zealand and then Fiji.

The next day I went on another boat trip but this one was slightly different. It was in a Waka (canoe) with a Maori guide who sang some traditional songs while we all rowed together. We went around the bay and up to a mangrove forest , then we tried to catch a fish or 2 but caught nothing so me and Brian, a slightly older man from Sunderland who was visiting his daughter in NZ had to jump into the sea and get some mussels for lunch-easier said than done. They were pretty tricky to pull off the rock and the sea didn't really help much but it was worthwhile in the end. We headed to an Island where we cooked the mussels and had a glass of wine. There had been 4 of us on the trip, another older lady and a girl of similar age to me. Me and her, again forgotten her name, walked up to the Waitangi treaty grounds. This was where the Maori people first signed New Zealand over to the Queen/British empire for her protection. After this it was a bus journey back to Auckland. We were leaving early the next morning so I just went to the bar for free pizza and watched a bit of a pool competition.

We next morning we left for Mercury Bay (Whitianga) but stopped on the coast at Hot water beach where you could dig hot pools or stand in the sea and burn your feet on the water under the sand and then Cathedral cove where there were 2 nice beaches and some rock formations. The hostel we stayed at here was called Turtle Cove. This where I met Jen, who I have since become very good friends with. We went for Spag Bol in the hostel and then I introduced her to John, Tracy, Doug, Paul and his 2 friends who had joined the tour Ronan and Ronan and I met her cousin Bonnie. This became a good group of friends who travelled all the way down to Queenstown together, although we left Doug in Nelson and picked up a few others along the way. That night, a Friday night, me, Jen and the 3 Irish set of to find the Irish bar in town, it was closed but not to worry the boys found another, very local pub for a few drinks.

The next day our destination was Rotorua-smelly vegas as its affectionately known over there. Due to all the thermal activity it smells like sulphur (rotten eggs)-yuck! On the way we stopped off in Matatmata, otherwise known as Hobbiton! On arrival in Rotorua we went to the thermal park and saw some Geysers, boiling mud and the rare kiwi bird. Then that night we had a cultural evening of entertainment at the Tamaki Maori village. We were all picked up from our hostel and taken out to the village where a traditional welcoming ceremony was performed. Each bus had a Chief and they had to meet with the Maori chief in a very intimidating ceremony while we all stood and watched-Doug was our chief! :-) Then we were allowed into a village which was traditionally set up and the maori people carried out traditional games and activities for a while before we were taken through to a big meeting place where the Maori performed some singing and dancing, including the famous Haka! It was amazing, they were all very good singers and dancers and in traditional dress then it was time for the hangi which is traditionally cooked under ground over hot rocks. There was a lot of food and dessert included kiwi pavlova and sponge and custard! :-) Then we were driven back to town and all went for a few drinks and lots of dancing at the nightclub by our hostel, lava bar! Saw some amazing break dancing by the local Maori people which was like nothing I had seen!

The next day we set off for Waitomo and had a few pointless stops along the way, including agrodrome where we watched a show about sheep, different breeds of sheep, sheep shearing and sheepdogs! Waitomo itself was very small and we stayed in a lovely hostel there, although it felt a lot like a school trip, we watched people play footy for a while then went for a nice walk. The next morning me, Jen, Bonnie, Tracey and John went black water rafting! First we abseilled down a pretty small hole which then opened out into a cave, then we flew down a zip wire in pitch black so we could see all the glow worms, which was amazing then we had to jump down at least 2 metres into freezing cold water with our rubber rings where we learnt a bit about glow worms and how they use light to attract their prey into web-like structures, we then walked, climbed and swam through several more caves before climbing up and out through 2 waterfalls! Then we met the rest of the bus and headed off to Taupo. Just outside we stopped to look at Huka falls, the biggest in NZ, they aren't very high at all but the equivalent of 2 swimming pools of water fall every second and it looked very fast and powerful. On arriving in Taupo, me, Jen, Bonnie, Paul, Tracey and John walked up to the thermal spa part of the river which was in a nice park and had a relax there, because although the river was very cold once you got near the hot water it got really hot and unbearable if you got too close. On our way back we did a big group shop for the next day and then the girls made the sandwiches as the boys had volunteered to carry them the next day.

Ok, the next day we were up very early as in we were picked up at 5.45am so that we could start the Tongariro crossing which was a hard day of walking but worth it for the views were spectacular, we walked passed Mt Doom from LOTR, saw a few craters, volcanic activity and emerald lakes, this is where we met Dustin(Canadian), who was on the magic bus but we bumped into him a few times along our travels. We were all quite glad to get back to Taupo that evening. Lake Taupo is in the crater of Mt Taupo which erupted a very long time ago and the eruption even affected the northern hemisphere as Roman scolars wrote of black skies for several nights, anyway it is huge, bigger than Singapore! That night to celebrate our achievements we all headed to a local Irish bar and did a pub quiz!

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Photos

Hot Water Beach
John, Paul and the Ronans trying to find hot water