NZ Week 1 summary

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We have been in NZ for 1 week now and what an eventful week it's been. We thought the North Island was supposed to be warm and the south island cool - not the case so far.
Highlights so far:
Auckland - Interesting city but we wanted to basically leave it. We did the Sky Deck and we found the Oldest serving pub (off course) so we had to have a beer there. Some of the parks around the town were nice to walk through.

Waitomo - We stopped at Otorohanga Kiwi House so Darren could see a Kiwi - something he always wanted to see. They are bigger than I thought and they are also Nocturnal - this made taking a photo very difficult - but we tried anyway.
We did the glow worm cave - very spectacular and the glow worms were everywhere. The light is their poo on fire and for the greenies it's the most efficient light source on the planet, the cave finishes with a boat ride in the dark with the glow worms everywhere above your head - it's like being under a blanket of stars.

Rotorua - We visited the Te Peita a Maori cultural centre where we saw hot mud pools and a Geyser. The next day we visited Hells Gate Thermal park - great if you love the smell of Sulpur (very eggy farts…) the landscape is amazing and the mud pool and spa afterwards was very enjoyable. My skin is the softest it's ever been, still days later….

Lake Taupo - on we have to get to the Lady Fox Geyser which erupts at 1015 every day. This was a great conversation piece the night before, as we wondered how it new it was still 1015 when we are now in daylight savings - all was to be reveled soon - it does this, because it's gets a kick start from the workers that drop some "soap" into it to start the chain reaction. It's still a good sight even though we were disappointed that it wasn't 100% natural. Walking the park we saw more thermal pools and the colours here were amazing. We visited the Huka falls at Lake Taupo - these were not that high, but the volume of water going through it was amazing. The lake was huge, it was like an inland sea. On the far side you could see snow capped mountains.

Napier - What a fantastic Art deco town. The buildings were marvelous - unfortunately the weather wasn't as good to us and a misty rain had settled in. So after having a walk around the town, we decided to keep driving down to Wellington.

Wellington (today) - we walked around the town and did a Parliament house tour, while we were there, it was question time so we decided to have a listen. They are like kindergarden kids but funny to listen too. After a beer at the back bencher pub across the road, it was back on the bus to the park and we are cooking a curry for dinner.

Things to note:
British nurses are mad and like their wine, especially when sharing stories with a German surgeon (some great people we met at Rotorua and hopefully we'll catch up again in Queenstown)
We like our food - this is our highest expense to date, then siteseeing and accommodation 3rd.
Menx likes the exchange rate and has already brought some clothes on the trip.
NZ beer is pretty good - my favorite to date is Speight's but I've tried many
The camper is good but the bed isn't long enough…..
Top10 Caravan parks have been fantastic the facilities are much better than at home, they really cater for the campervan crowd.
Photo count week 1 - 441, sheep count 1,283, cow count 970…..

Hope everyone is well and enjoying home life.....
Love Darren and Menca
xo

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Comments

[Longtime]

Memories...
Hi folks! You have managed to condense the last month we had in one blog doing more or less what we've done (compare with our blog). Like yourselves not fans of city life. We've luckily escaped the worst of the weather. Wellington, then South Island for 2 months to get some fresh mountain air! Enjoy doing what all people with sense should be doing! x