Driving north over the harbour bridge. Waiwera Thermal hot Pools and Spa looked very popular with the locals (what kid wouldn't want to go down a heated water slide on a cold day?) but we decided just to go for a stroll along the pretty beach and continue up the coast. Orewa was another nice beach and we stopped for coffee and cake in the park. There are quite a few walks in the area. We chose to tramp around Alice Eaves reserve. Although some of us ended up a little off-grid the entire area was lovely with native forest remnants, an estuary, nice views (not from the lookout though) and shady spots to sit. Next stop was the Honey Centre where we tasted lots of honeys as well as meads and liquers. Yum! Tash bought ... read more

We hired a car from Alternative Rental Cars- the guys there were great and we got an excellent deal ($150 for 5 days). Having a car meant we could head further afield so south to Rotorua where we stopped at Agroventures for our first bungee and also to try out Extreme Freefall and Jesse and Nic Schweebed. Bungeeing was amazing. So much fun and nothing like I expected. Unfortunately as interesting as it is to see mud boiling and steam pouring out of the ground (even out of the street drains) the overpowering sulphur smell was not much fun. Wayne and I enjoyed a hot soak (which was surprisingly less stinky when in the thermally heated water) followed by a sprint in the icy night back to our rooms.... read more

Return flights from Gold Coast to Auckland including a week's accomodation with brekky (yoghurt+banana+muffin) for around AU$500 was just impossible to pass up so here we go... Arrival at midnight was no problem - we caught a minivan taxi (with 5 travelling together it was the cheapest option as the shuttle is $35 each I think) for about $75. Our hotel (Bianco Off Queen) was just off Queen St (the main road) heading to K Road (a more diverse street) making it a great spot for us to base our adventures. We started with a walk down Queen St to Cafe 1 where we picked up a bunch of brochures (with deals and vouchers as well as info and maps), nice coffee and a free Sim card (these are available from a couple of places and ... read more

Regardless of the name its like an open museum with the added bonus of cool geographic features (like lava flow caves) and sparkling clear waters. The massive moai were amazing and we were lucky enough to run into the director of archaeology doing some photography and measurements on the latest dig and he showed us a newly excavated moai and where in the mountain it came from, explaining what they found etc. Oh and flying there and back 1st class was an experience in itself!... read more

Had everyone wrapped in layers for the trip I believed would be freezing. The heater was unbearable people were down to singlets and shirts it was quite unpleasant. Uyuni is full to overflowing with touts hoping you will choose their tour company for your visit to the salt flats. They all seem to offer something very similar and I have heard of people on the same trip who have paid quite different amounts. Never mind we had already booked tour through Kanoo to go with Tupiza. There were day tours, overnights and any other variety of trips. We ended up with a British couple - so only 6 of us plus the guide/driver who spoke no English so I was primary translator lol. The salar itself is really incredible the other sights on the tour include ... read more