New Zealand, North Island

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Here we are in north Island Looking forward to our next lot of adventures but not looking forward to it all coming to an end as time just seems to be flying by. Loved South Island and have been told that north is totaly different so we shall see.

Wednesday 29th October
We arrived on North Island safely but had a bit of a do when we arrived as everywhere was full and we couldn't really get out into the country to pull over for the night as Wellington is so large we would have wasted loads of petrol to just drive all the way back again. So instead we drove around the one way system for about 2hrs before pulling in to a pay and display spot for the night as they're FREE until 8am. So we finally got some sleep. The ferry was fine a little smelly as there where lots of cattle trucks on there but we ended up inside as it went cold. We got to watch the sunset though which was lovely and we took some sandwiches with us so had a very windy on deck picnic. Anyway managed to use the showers at the leisure centre for the bargain price of $1.50 pp and they had hair dryers so I was well away. So already to go looking and smelling nice when we realized that parking was impossible even the really expensive places were full Gutted as we had planned to park in a cheap one for $5 for the whole day bet that clearly gets full at sunrise with workers. We drove round because we are tight and hated the thought of paying for parking let alone paying a fortune, when the $5 place had a space whoop whoop so we parked up and Steve reversed into the car behind luckily did no damage but the security guy gave us a few funny looks. So we headed of for our first task of the day DENTIST da da daaaaa well Steve kind of dragged me as I have been in pain with a chipped one so they booked me in for tomorrow at 9:30am. The weather turned rather bad so we headed for the Te Papa Museum which we spent around 3hrs looking around as its got so much to see and interactive stuff as well we spent most of our time in the kids play areas oh and there was this test where you get given scenarios about what you would do in the event of an earthquake and I failed loads of them so its safe to say I wouldn't survive bummer!

Thursday 30th October
Up early to shower and get to the Dentist. So nervous I was actually shaking but the Dentist was really good I had actualy chipped 2 teeth but because the receptionist had only booked me in for a check up (even though I had told her I may need treatment she said it would be fine) he only had time to do one and thats because I basically said I would wait. So he gave me 2 shots of anaesthetic which I was thankfull for and it took him around 1hr to do it so much better that the 15min jobs you get with the NHS. So I may need to go back but we will see how it goes. So I was also gutted it cost $300 and we were looking at all the beautiful clothes we could have bought. Hopefully be able to get it back on insurance. We did some sight seeing but I felt a little unwell so we didn't go mad. Headed for the Beehive which wasn't anything spectacular the buildings next door were more interesting the Parliament house and the Parliamentary library. There where lots of school trips out in force again its nice to see the kids and I must admit I do miss my work a little now and again. So after our look around we headed of to our new destination which was a DOC site in a place called Featherston. When we arrived the site was in a lovely setting on the side of a cliff and a short walk down to the river. Steve ended up in the lake skinny dipping (it was REALLY cold) we later got chatting to a local guy who drove up to the site to walk his 5 dogs and he told us about a place called Mangatutu hot springs which is free as its a DOC site a little out of the way but we may look into visiting that one.

Friday 31st October
Whooooooooo Halloween! To be honest we actualy forgot . They celebrate it here but thankgod we were out of town I could just imagine us (well Timmy) being terrorized by by a group of 7yr olds dressed as pumpkins and killer rabbits. so we were just a little out of Masterton where we spent the day nothing much there we just used the free internet at the library.

saturday 1st November
God time is going way too fast. Feeling a little delicate today as had a few drinks last night. Washed my hair with heated up bottled water because I'm posh. Headed onto castle point reserve, there was 2 walks to choose from but we ended up doing both. First one we did was Deliverence cove it was nice views but I was scared to death as the wind was so strong and we were on the edge of a cliff so I just sat down and dare not move untill the wind calmed down. Steve left me to take some photos he has no fear about anything I really wish I was like that but the whole height thing and falling of the edge I couldn't do it. So we headed back down I bum shuffled the first part as It was still really windy. We then did a nice walk to the lighthouse which took you over the beach that had a fairly amusing sign "lost soles" And it was covered in left behind flip flops (you had to be there) Excited as we headed for Porangahou which is next door to the place with the longest name 85 letters and unpronouncable. Luckily there was a guy there who took a photo for us as the sign is just on the side of the road. (check the pic out) we didn't realize that there wouldn't be any petrol stations on the way and we were getting DESPERATE for petrol we were actualy on empty, but the garage was closed until monday and there wasn't another one for 45km (approx 25mile) in the next town arrrr! We decided to risk it and drove very slow crossing our fingers the whole way and hoping to god when we got to the half way point that wasn't when it was going to conk out on us BUT good old Timmy didn't let us down he made it with out even a grumble. So all fuelled up we carried on to Pukehou area where we pulled in at the road side for the night. We cooked dinner on one hob as we have a gas leak so we need to get that sorted asap as it wasn't easy.

sunday 2nd November
Traveled to Napier today free parking as it was a sunday. So we headed into town on one of the set walks in Lonely Planet as Napier is famous for its Art deco buildings. It was levelled back in 1931 by an earthquake but rebuilding started immediately and took around 18mths. It was like the village in house of wax it didn't seem real. The weather turned grey so we headed back to the car for warmer clothes and a nice afternoon tea. Then strolled along the sea front. Cooked a curry for tea and we ended up staying on a huge carpark were parking is free from 6pm until 8am but it was right next to the sea front closer than the posh hotels that charge you $250 a night and an extra $50 for a view well we stayed in Timmy for free and had a better view na na na na na!

Monday 3rd November
Skyped friends and family nice to catch up and hear all the juicy gossip from home. Sometimes you feel really happy after speaking to them but other time its upsetting as you realize how far away you are and how much you miss them. Today was a bit of both really. So the rest of the day we went on a walk up Bluff hill to the look out not really the spectacular views we were expecting unless a timber port floats your boat but the weather was lovely so we headed back down and took the sea front route for the way back and we treated ourselves to a yummy icecream orange choc chip and cookies and cream it took me five time longer to pick my flavours (with the help of my thinking finger) than it did to eat it te he! We spent a small fortune in pack and save as they had beer on offer for 4x12 crates for $40 and we did a big food shop so we are fully stocked for a while. Had our left over curry for dinner that was yummy.

Tuesday 4th November
Up early as so hot in Timmy you couldn't breathe. We tested out the i-site showers which were only $2 and we managed to charge the camera in there to so all good. Heading up to Mangatutu today (the hot springs the guy told us about) It took approx 2hrs to get there as the DOC map was pretty poor but it was so worth it in the end. We had the place to ourselves and just got in the hot spring when a family of 4 showed up (2 young kids) so we decided as we we're able to go in later we let them have it to themselves for a few hours as the kids wanted to jump in and out obviously being kids. So we chilled out and the weather went really bad even started to rain but it actualy made the hot springs nicer as they where really hot (getting in was the hard part) We later cooked dinner but our gas completely stopped working and as we're in the middle of nowhere we had nothing to eat and we really needed something warm as it had turned so cold we decided to put some wood on the fire (the fire places where already put there by the DOC) there where no fire bans etc as you have to check these things. So there we were trying to warm our pasta when this wind came out of nowhere and the fire was getting bigger still controled but the sparks where flying out like mad and Steve looked worried so im panicking because he's never worried so we're thinking we're going to start a full blown forest fire which would prob kill us and god knows who and what else so We were running up and down to the waterfall with a pan to get water to put it out it took ages but we managed and finally ate our cold pasta. So to warm up we headed back to the hot springs at around midnight and were the only ones there, it wasn't a perfectly clear night but it was nice as you could see some stars and the clouds looked really cool. It rained the whole time but we actualy sat on the side as it was so hot it was lovely. After a very eventfull day I think we may sleep well.

Wednesday 5th November
BANG BANG!!!! BONFIRE NIGHT.......we headed back to Napier but have been told there was no fireworks displays anywhere as we asked at the info centre before we went to Mangatutu. Its rained all day and all last night so everywhere looks dull today. We did our shopping and everywhere had big signs up saying they had sold out of fireworks as here they are only allowed to sell them from approx 3rd to the 6th so you dont have them going off for weeks before and after like we get in the UK. We tried to get the gas bottle filled up but everywhere closed so steve had a chippie tea and I had a cheese sandwhich (so im starving) We also noticed a lot of people parked around the beach so we checked it out and it was well cool all the locals with their families had set up bonfires all the way along the beach and were setting their fireworks off, so we walked all the way along the front and got to see loads of fireworks (for free) Good day.

Thursday 6th November
Funny day with my map reading crap road signs and guess work we got totally lost for ages then all of a sudden turned up on the right road but about 30miles in the right direction I mean call that lucky. We managed to get the gas bottle filled again for $7 but the woman was stroppy about doing it apparently they dont like the small ones as difficult to re-fill (but they charge the same price to fill cheecky gits) Headed towards Woodville which due to getting lost we arrived late afternoon and Steve has family friends in Levin that we were trying to contact but pay phones are obviously a thing of the past as we could only find card phones. So we decided to try to make contact tomorrow and it began pouring it down so we got a camp site for the night (only $2 each) we thought it had a kitchen access but it belonged to the village something group. We cooked just outside the shower as there was a shelter and no one else on the site and still raining windy and cold!

Friday 7th November
Oh my god we bought the biggest Cauliflower in the word it was so funny as they where like $2 each and some where tiny so we always look for the biggest but oh my there was no searching involved this bad boy was right there for all to see, so guess what we are having for tea, lunch and brekkie for that matter prob for the next month. Anyway we woke up to sunshine which lasted approx 2hrs. We managed to look around some book shops as thats all Woodville have and second hand shops (not really worth stopping at for anything other than a late night stop over) We got through to family friends Sarah and Kylie so were going to see them tomorrow for lunch. So we chilled and tried to make dinner but the stroppy woman who filled our gas bottle yesterday clearly didn't do it properly as it lasted only lastnight. So steve headed down the road to get it re-filled and suprise suprise nowhere will do it at this time. Anyway I had got chatting to a lady and her son, they offered us to use there stove and said we could just split everything 50/50 our veg their meatballs so it all ended up fine.

Saturday 8th November
Up early headed to meet Sarah and Kylie (I have never met them before) Steve had only meet them once when he was younger so we didn't really know them or want to put them out in any way. So we got there and had a fab time we ended up going to the fireworks with them as Sarah has 2 sons and they were very entertaining. We had a good day.

Sunday 9th November
Up early as we are headed for Palmy to meet up with some other friends of Steves parents. They have just got back from a visit to the UK so again we dont want to put anyone out but looking forward to a bed for the night. We arranged to be there at 5pm so we had a look around Palmy and chilled in the sun for a while. We got a little lost on the way (Steve got stressed it was funny) but arrived in the end there house was in a lovely location as they had bought the land and built it themselves. We sat out on the decking with a glass of wine and a beer then had a BBQ lovely. We decided to stay 2nights as the food and drink is so good. Only kidding they made us feel at home instantly and we are wanting to have a good look around Palmy tomorrow anyway so perfect.

Monday 10th November
Up early as Steve watched the footie and we were greeted by bacon and scrambled eggs yummy thinking we may say until we leave at this rate. Alan and Rosie took us out in their yute to palmy where we bought a sim card to help us sell Timmy and they even treated us to lunch bless them. Alan took Steve to a guy who fixed our stove for $3 perfect. Then we headed for Foxton as they have a beach house there which there actualy renting out at the mo but it was a nice area bigger than we expected it to be. We had a look around then headed back to Palmy to have a look around the park. They had a bird sancturary there with a parrot that let you stroke it for hrs. We then headed back to the house for dinner. Fab day only negative was our camera decided to break so we are hoping it will be fixable because we cant afford a new one.

Tuesday 11th November
Up early as heading off tday, would be nice to stay longer but still so much to do and so little time plus we want to get to Auckland as soon as so we can work on sorting and selling Timmy. So we had our last treat of scrambled eggs on toast before hitting the road. It felt really strange being back in Timmy again feels like ages ago we slept in him and its only been 2nights. We popped on the internet before leaving town to sort out our work in OZ the lady had mailed us saying they would love to have us there during the Christmas period so we are well excited just waiting for a little more info one arrangements regarding board and work hours. We traveld a fair way to Kowhatau as there was a camp site from lonely planet that looked really nice. We had to cross a farm and their private land to get there and they were not overly friendly but left us alone so it was ok. There were only two other women (lezzers) there on a fishing weekend and they where staying in the site hut (which we never knew existed they offered us use of the facilities but we declined as they had paid for it so we felt it would be unfair. Had a fire as it was a nice warm evening and we toasted marshmallows on the fire it was really cool had a few drinks and talked about all the amazing things we have seen so far. I got very, very drunk! I even went to bed without telling Steve!!!

Wednesday 12th November
My head hurts so had to have brekkie and that sorted it out pronto! We were right rebels last night we didn't go to bed until around 3am so we had a longer lie. We had a walk to a flying fox that one of the women on the site told us about it was really cool (see pics) we checked it out as best we could then Steve went first as I was really scared it looked really high. So I ran around like challenge Anneka down muddy paths and waterfalls to get some pictures of steve in it. He managed to talk me into having a go and I'm glad I did but it was high so I got him to pull me back in sraight away. We carried on our nice little walk then headed back to camp as it was so hot we decided to chill in the sun for a while and as we sat down the sun went in gutted as im feeling to pale at the moment. Headed of around 5pm to Turangi and got another DOC site for the night there where 3 to choose from so we ended up being anti social and stopping on the one with no one else on and we had another fire and this time settled for a hot chocolate.

Thursday 13th November
Up early To go to The pillars of Hercules. When we got here yesterday we noticed a sign post for them and didn't really know what they were but it was only a 30min walk and to be honest it was only a bridge nothing too exciting. Headed on to Taupo and popped into the info centre where they gave us the location of a free campsite (not a DOC) it was busy but right next to the river so really pretty. We headed to the look out point to watch the dam get emptied as it does so 4 times daily. We also visited the Bee factory which was cool as they let you tast the products and one actualy had gold in it (they didn't let us try that one though) It was a temporary section as we didn't know before we got there that the factory had burnt down and Steve asked if we could see the Bees and they didn't have any as they were all killed in the fire sad really as they think it is a group of people who are doing it and just seem to be hitting tourist attractions, lucily no one was hurt in any of the fires so far though. we had a nice evening next to the river.

Friday 14th November
Up early as skyping friends today nice to catch up again. Headed to Huka falls for a walk 3hr round trip. Just at the start of the walk we noticed a lot of people in the river near the bridge and a stream. So we thought "are they mental that water is freezing" but after checking it out we realized it was hot water coming down the Stream and freezing water in the river but as they met it was warm so we did the walk which was nice but stupid me wore flipflops so I'm in agony tonight blisters and poorly soles and when we got back we jumped in the river, well I kind or reluctantly slithered in as the only place to get in was the cold area not good. It was a bizarre feeling freezing cold yet red hot in different places swirling around your body we couldn't decide if it was nice or not as it was so strange but really cool though. Such a hot day today you can tell its coming into summer We actualy got a tan whoop whoop bye bye milk bottle hello headlights. We went back to the free camp site and got the same spot again which was cool unfortunately it started raining so we had to bail inside.

Saturday 15th November
Spoke to family on skype (finally) everyone well and it was nice to see them all. Left Taupo for Rotorua very excited as everyone has said what a fab place it is and we are staying at a campsite with hot pools etc as a treat for Steves Birthday. On the way we called into "craters of the moon" a thermal area with holes in the ground you can look into but they have started to charge you to get in so we scrapped the idea as there are similar ones in Rotorua for FREE! We also checked out the Wairakei Geothermal power project which produces natural heat (up to 250oc) and suplies 5% of NewZealands power. It was so warm in the area and steam everywhere. We arrived in Rotorua and did the usual info centre to find out about camp sites and things to do, They were clearly after your money and when they realized they weren't going to get any they tried to rush through answers so they could move onto the next person. So we did find out a few basics and that nothing here is free. We headed of to take a look at the campsite that we fancied it was $32 a night and real nice with 3 little hot tubs and a pool but we had a look at another site and it also had a pool and good social area for $21 a night so we decided to go for the cheaper one as they had bushes between sites so it made it more private and do 2nights instead of the just 1. They were both real busy sites though so we were lucky to get a space.

Sunday 16th November
Headed out to see the sites via the shops as some of my tops are to big for me so needed some new ones. Went to a shop called Just Jeans and got 2 boob tube for $10 each, a vest top and long sleeve cross over $5 each they 3 scalfs that I can use as tops or sarongs so a good bargin shop. We finaly headed of to see the sights, funnily enough thats when Steve started smiling again. We didn't need a map you could just follow the smell and you came across the sulphur point part bird sanctury. The lake in the area is on top of an active geothermal area which makes the water a creamy white. The smell was intense and made us feel rather sick so we headed on to the park and visited the rose garden and the outside of the museum which was a nice building with lots of outdoor activities going on such as bowles and croquet. When we got back to the hostel we took advantage of the heated outdoor pool which we had all to ourselves. A long day so we watched the sunday night movie in the tv room.

Monday 17th November
Its raining and miserable so we got ready to leave the site and they were fairly relaxed with you checking out then hanging around for a little while as some places charge you extra even if you only want to stay on to have brekkie before you leave so that was nice. We posted our Christmas cards as they can take up to 3wks and the 15th should have been the cut off so fingers crossed they get there this year. Headed for the Coromandel Peninsula but it will take longer than one day to get there so we have a stop of planned at Whangamata DOC but they wanted to charge us $20 and the only facilities where the toilets as the BBQ was broken and the showers where extra so we headed back onto the road and just parked up at a pull in.

Tuesday 18th November
Really nice day headed up north to Tairua and got info for hot water beach and Cathedral cove etc im well excited it was a sunny part cloudy day and we did a mini walk up Paku an old Pa site with 360 dedree views. We then had brunch and as we started cooking the rain started pouring down so we ran around trying to get all the stuff back in the van (as its so hard to dry things) and the rain just stopped typical hay. We headed on to Cathedral cove as we have to wait until the tides gone out for hot water beach (4pm) there was a nice 50min walk to the lime stone arch where the sun was shining and people sunbathing on the beach even a couple getting married up near a water fall arrr. We got some lovely photos before heading to hot water beach where theres thermal water just below the sand. It was so busy and we discovered you have to dig where everyone already was as it was silly hot in places you really could burn your butt. Definately a must do! Heading into Auckland but just pulled in overnight at a picnic stop which was fine. Dont know what to expect in Auckland if it will be like Christchurch or Wellington who knows??

Wednesday 19th November
Headed into Auckland. We stopped of at the Coromandel peninsula to buy some of there famous smoked mussels. They where real nice and not to pricey at $280 per 100gram. Steve said he preferred fresh but I have never tried one before so I cant compare I just thought they were nice. After almost a full day of driving we arrived in Auckland and you can sure tell its 1/4 of Newzealands population we also arrived during rush hour which made it a nightmare. We lucky found a parking space 20min walk from the sky tower where the info centre is. We found out that there were no cheap places to stay (that they know of) no cheap parking (that they know of) Overall they didn't really know that much. So we went it alone and had a look around to try and find some place to stay overnight. We came across a look out point over the harbour and it was real nice and quiet (if you ignored the rude boys smoking the odd joint in there car) looking forward to having a look around tomorrow and sorting out how to sell Timmy.


Thursday 20th November
Up early as need a shower and we haven't looked into where we can have one so we headed to a baths close by and they said you had to pay $6 each even if you only want to use the shower. So we headed into town to the Tepid baths and they allowed us to have one for $2 yaaay so fresh and so clean! We went with some advice the info centre had given us about parking up at the museum for FREE! It was a 30min walk into town she had told us but we were fine with that. Oh but suprise it was only 2/3hrs free and the warden was well onto it so we worked out what we could do in the time that we had and headed off. First job was to print posters up for selling Timmy, we did this and put them up in 3 hostels. We also checked out hostel prices as we will be staying in one from mon hopefully if we sell Timmy Sunday at the market. Cheapest one we came across was $315 special for 7nights (not bad) it seemed nice and chilled with good kitchen and Tv room with an outside area for bbq's! We called into the backpackers market the vans were in much worse condition than Timmy done more miles and were priced up at anything from $3500 to $6000. Oh and the guys that work there all I can say is unhelpful and full of attitude, basically they wanted us to bring the car in right now at 4pm and you pay $89 for 3 days this would be our first and they close at 5pm. They made out you can't just turn up on monday as they're always full but he had just said they had sold 6cars today anyway we realized they obviously wanted us to bring it in before sunday as we would prob sell it at the sunday market. So we really didn't want to have to go back there I'm hoping we sell Saturday or Sunday!

friday 21st November
Had a real bad nights sleep due to nightmares about selling Timmy and no one turning up at the car market on Sunday etc silly I know but we cant really afford not to sell him. So we headed for the Museum carpark again as we need to pack him up and get him ready for tomorrow as there is a market in central town we are going to try. We were in the middle of absolute chaos when this couple came over and asked if we had had a good time traveling in NZ. He than asked if Timmy had been a good runner and we ended up showing them around the van and all thats included and they seemed interested but obviously just got here and had been to the backpackers market already so they had seen the expense of the other vans. We had to move the van as we had been there for 3hrs and they took our num and told us they would call in 1hr. We got the car packed up and clean and over 1hr had passed so we decided that they didn't want our Timmy and we decided that to be fair that would have been too easy when the phone rang and it was the guy Morgan asking if him and Danielle could come and talk so we headed to meet them. They took it for a test drive and I waited with all our bags and stuff (I looked like the bag lady) when they came back they had made an offer of $2600 and we accepted. We are just in shock it was so lucky and easy we just keep pinching each other. So they needed to get money out so we arranged to meet them at 8am (just in case they changed their mind and we could still make it to the car market) So we had a drink and I let Steve have a pizza hut for a treat aren't I nice. (Obvioulsy I had a few slices too)

Saturday 22nd November
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL BOYFRIEND 31st" Woke steve up with a sing song which he really enjoyed god hes so lucky. Going to save his card untill later as my pressie to him is a bungy jump of the Auckland Harbour bridge but if we dont sell the van I need to cross it out, only kidding if we dont sell the van it will cheer him up later so im holding on to it for now. We met up with Morgan and Danielle to hopefully sell Timmy. Thank god it all went smoothly and we funny enough moved into their room at the hostel for $60 as it was so much easier than getting to the other one today as lastnight my zip went on my bag not because of all my clothes but because I rushed and didn't pack it properly so I need to sew it back together again that will teach me. May have to look for a new one haven't a clue what they cost? We said our final good byes to Timmy got some photos of us and his new Mummy and Daddy (sad but you just cant help it) We're sad to see him go but happy that we sold him to a nice couple who would appreciate him as much as we did. We kind of spent the day in a blur as we couldn't quite believe that we had sold him stress free I mean we just aren't that lucky so we sat there waiting for the knock on the door that they had changed their mind or something but thank god it never happend. We had a drink for Steves birthday (I must have drank a lot last night as I felt so rougth today) we have a huge window in our room so we were sad and spent most of the night people and car watching and laughing at the students in the next building clearly mortal drunk trying to dance or do something along those lines it was hilarious. Really wanted to get Steve a Birthday cake but it would have been to obvious as we are always together and I really didn't know where to get one from so I just sang happy birthday with a lighter and he blew that out instead. He was happy with his bungy we just need to decide which day he is going to do it ARRRRR!

Sunday 23rd November
Moved hostels as the one we were in last night was so friendly but there wasn't a very good area to meet people in so we are going to the one we looked at on Thursday for $315 for the week. We walked there as I managed to fix my bag it took ages to sell but we looked at prices for a new one and the cheapest was $599 shocking. So we are staying in a place called Ponsonby its about a 30min walk into town and 10min walk to NewWorld supermarket so all is good. People in the hostel seem real nice most are living here and working so they dont really go out which is nice as you sometimes feel like the boring ones when you get pestered in some hostels we have stayed in to go out all the time but like we have said before we dont have the budget to do it here and we can save it for when we get home. So we chilled in the Tv room and it was so nice to watch normal Tv again.

Monday 24th to Saturday 29th November
Well I decided to write this bit all together as its our time spent in Auckland. So here we go during the week we went to Qantas and sorted our flight changes to fly out of Sydney instead of Darwin so we could spend longer on the Stud farm working but on the friday the woman decided to tell us they no longer want anyone. So this completely messed our plans up and we could have spent the past 8 looking for jobs but this woman has been mailing us with a promised position up untill 2 days before. So suprisingly we are not happy. So we decided that unfortunately we dont have the budget for OZ if we aren't working and have decided we would like to do it on a bigger budget and time frame in the future. So changed our flights to fly out of Sydney on the 9th Dec so that gives us 1wk and if we find jobs we can change them again so fingers crossed.
We had a look around the Auckland domain Museum which is meant to be free if you ignore the $10 they charge you on the way in? We had been to Te Papa in Wellington and that was so much better and actually free with an option to give a donation if you want to. The weather has been beautiful and sunny so we have been wearing our summer gear so was able to do a wash at the hostel. I did some cheeky shopping as I decided I wanted to buy some nice shoes to make me feel like a lady and we went to the warehouse that had $10 off most of there shoes so I got some lovely ones for $25 (approx 9pound)
We had decided to go out drinking on saturday as we havn't been out once in NZ but no one really goes out (just a few of the hostel pill heads no thankyou) so we are going to join in with the BBQ you just buy your own food and drink so thats cool, I was looking forward to dressing up in my new heels but oh well theres always OZ or the next place. We are going to the santa parade on sunday which should be nice its the 75th year so we are hoping for something special I just cant wait to see santa I wonder if he will be wearing his shorts and sunnies as its summer here I will let you know.
So we leave on Monday the 1st so we will be back soon to fill you in on our OZ adventures so untill then take care x x

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Photos

The ferry
The sunset over the mountains as we left south island

Me and Steve
Enjoying the view

The Bee Hive
Famous building in Wellington

The lost soles
At castle point beach

Th flying fox
Me scared to death

yummy!
Finally getting our toated maershmallows yaaaaay

The longest place name
Try and say thet then........

Mangatutu hot springs
A free DOC site all to ourselves in the middle of a forest!

Rotorua
Geothermal power project

Rotorua
The Hot/cold river at the start of the Huka falls walk

cathedral Cove
Having a paddle on the amazing beach

Hot water beach
See if you can spot Jesus

Hot water beach
Me digging my little hole

Bye bye Timmy
Timmy's new/old Mummy and Daddy!

After our visit to the fish market
Sky tower in the back ground