Up at 5am this morning to catch our shuttle bus to take us to the start of the famous Tongariro crossing – it is supposed to be one of the best day walks in NZ. It is 19km and takes 6-8hrs. We saw Mt Ngauruhoe up close which was the mountain that was the inspiration for Mt Doom in the lord of the rings film. It is an active volcano which last erupted in 1975 so there are lots of warning signs on the mountain about what to do in the case of an eruption… so we walked fast! Most of the walk was over volcanic terrain, and we saw several craters and some beautiful emerald lakes. The weather was perfect, lots of blue sky, though later in the day the cloud came in in the ... read more

Had a good nights sleep in New Zealands ‘most haunted’. Got up and went to the Waitomo Caves to do the ‘Haggas Honking Holes’ caving experience. Had a fantastic time abseiling down underground waterfalls, scrabbling through small crevice tunnels, climbing back up waterfalls and generally having fun. We saw lots of Glow Worms (up close too), which was amazing, and came out at the end utterly exhausted. Continued on to Lake Rotoaira, where we will be staying in a bach for the next 3 nights. We arrived at the bach to find all the doors and windows open, not entirely sure if it was the right place – but wandered in anyway. The place is nice, but needed a bit of a clean. The beds looked used which was a bit worrying so we wondered over ... read more

Today was a day of new food experiences... fish and chips for lunch at 'the shippy' on a tall ship, but no cod or haddock in sight. We had 'bluenose' and 'kapuka' - though we're still not quite sure what they are - both white fish but with a more meaty consistency than cod - very good though. Served with kumara chips (sweet potato). Then later (despite the fact it was raining!!) I had hokey pokey ice cream (thanks Helen for the recommendation) - honeycomb flavour - which was delicious. We went to the Waitangi Museum this morning, where we learned about the Waitangi treaty between the British and the Maori in 1834. Great museum and we also got to see a Maori cultural performance where Paul actually got to have a go at the Haka. ... read more

Kia Ora!!! We are finally here - Both feeling a bit weary, but very smooth flight all in all - definately need a break from eating - we were offered pizza at 6am this morning, just an hour before breakfast was served, which was somewhat bizarre! Landed at Auckland this morning, and 3.5 hr drive got us to our little cottage in Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands on North Island where we're staying for three nights. Weather is a bit grey and drizzly at the moment, but the views are still spectacular. I am sitting looking over the river vally, with a lemon tree just outside the window. However weather is very mild, about 22 degrees C, so we are sitting with the wndows open despite the drizzle. Not sure on plans for tomorrow - ... read more

Hello everyone, well we're all packed and ready to go. Tomorrow we head off on the long ol' flight out there - a chance to catch up on all the movies we've missed recently. If all goes to plan we'll be posting photo's and movies whenever we get decent internet access. Hope you all have a great Christmas while we're away, and look forward to seeing you all in 2012!... read more