NZ! Aukland, Bay of Islands, Rotorua

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Into New Zealand and back to Winter!..! Here's what we did;

Before joining our Kiwi experience tour bus we spent two days in Auckland. On the first day we wondered up and down the Queens high street in search of Warm clothes for the coming month! Temperatures in Auckland alone where half of what we had experienced in the last few months, so it was quite a climate change to be in NZ. We also took a stroll around the harbour area which had nice views of volcanoes and fisheries. On our second day we visited Auckland Museum. It contained a vast display of Maori Cultural relics, Natural history and war memorials in its 3 floors, although far too large to get around it in a few hours.! We watched a Maori cultural performance in the museum where we crapped ourselves as they performed the Hakka in front of us! - It was a nice way to start off our trip in NZ and understand a bit of its history. Another highlight of the museum was an earthquake room where you experienced what it would be like if Auckland’s seismic activity ruptured the crust in Auckland Harbour. Regardless of the thick grey clouds shadowing over much of Auckland we still enjoyed views down to the city from the very lush park area outside the museum. Later that evening I attended a New Zealand Tourism meeting to give my opinion on there advertisement plans!.! I got paid 40 quid/ NZ$100 for the participation. Result!

The next day we started our Kiwi Experience tour. With mixed reviews of the tour, we were reluctant to maintain our booking however we were pleasantly surprised with our time on it so far! On our first day we headed to the "Winterless North' to a township called Pahia in the Bay of Islands. Our driver was pretty informative and the whole experience was incredibly easy - you literally tick a box if you want feeding, accommodation and to do activities. A stark contrast to what we experienced earlier on our trip! On our first day in the Bay of Islands we took a ferry across the bay to a small town called Russell, known for its brothels and pubs in the past! We will remember it for some fine fish and chips. We took a view point walk with a guy from Buckingham for some amazing panoramic sights of the Bay of Islands, we also headed further up the headland for some better sights. On our second day we went to a museum which was the birthplace of modern NZ where Maori tribes signed a treaty to be protected under British Sovereignty. Afterwards we travelled back to Auckland as the rainy conditions began to set in.

On bound to Mercury bay, visiting Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach en-route. We got back on the Kiwi bus heading east over the Coromandel Peninsular. We stopped at a volcano shortly after getting out of Auckland for views over the city, but the weather was too foggy and we saw nothing! After lunch we did a half hour walk to cathedral cove, - essentially a cathedral looking window cave. We also headed to hot water beach where at low tide the thermal activity warms subterranean water and if you dig a hole on the beach you make your very own hot water spring. Nik and the rest of the girls wore bikinis under coats and scarves to suit the warm beach as well as the freezing ocean breeze! Finally we made it into Mercury Bay where we stayed at a very homely turtle cove hostel. We got to know our friends on our bus over a pint watching the All Blacks play and then we visited a bar with live music, and very local locals!!

We then headed to Rotorua, meaning twin lakes but more well known for its high geothermal activity being situated on the Pacific and Australian plate margins. First though we stopped for a walk through an old gold mining complex with a string of dark railed tunnels to explore, a welcomed shelter from the downpour outside! We arrived in Rotorua by 1pm to the stench of rotten eggs, (sulphur), and soon departed our hostel to go Luging, (Like tarmac bobsleigh but without the sledge casing!). We got a very slow sky ride up to the top of the track where the views of Rotorua were clouded by thick rain. Regardless of the wet onslaught the luging was brilliant! Nik tried desperately to beat me but was all talk!.! There was an advanced track which I took and managed to get some air on a jump at one point! By the end of it though the slow chair lifts back to the top caused a freeze to set into our sodden clothes! To warm up we all jumped into our hostel steaming swimming pool and later that evening we visited Tamaki cultural village where we watched a Maori war display before we were welcomed into the make belief village. We got to see how Maoris’ lived and worked in the past before they demonstrated the dances and traditions that we had already had seen on the trip. The main highlight for me was the all you can eat food afterwards where I scoffed down a whole plate of lamb on its own! (My favorite!). We also hit the local bar afterwards for some pool action.

The next few days in Rotorua were spent relaxing and doing a few activities in the local area. On our first day we chilled around our hostel and then explored the town a little before enjoying some Polynesian Hot Pools in the evening. We spent a few hours bathing in the hot sulphiric waters and spoke to 2 Maoris’ who keep there culture alive. They seemed about 20 and only learned English a few years ago, and it was nice to know they still live traditional lives. The baths were located next to Rotorua Lake and the view across it in the night sky enhanced a very relax mood. The next day we visited the "Geothermal Wonderland" were we watched a geyser explode with water about 20m into the air. The Geothermal park were essentially numerous volcanic fields of bubbling mud, fizzing pools and colour ponds, the latter a consequence of various oxides evacuating from the earths crust. It was a very interesting sight to see but the eggy whiff started to make me feel ill after a while! The main sight was the "Champagne Pools." A deep hole with an orange outer surface and blue steamy inner waters. We got back in Rotorua early afternoon and walked around along the wet streets before jumping into the hostels steaming swimming pool and then got some free Pizza in the local bar!.
Next up Waitamo Glowworm Caves, Taupo, River valley and Wellington…

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