North Island , New Zealand.

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Hi, Lot's to ramble on about, so we'll get straight on with it:

Our last trip in Melbourne was to a fabulous building called the Shrine of Rememberance. It's built to commemorate all those who died in the second world war. In the main crypt is a big tomb with the words "GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN". And on the roof, there is a piece of brick missing. Every year, at 11.11am on the 11th of November the suns rays shine through the gap in the ceiling. The rays strike the word LOVE on the tomb to mark the end of the war, and a minutes silence is held. It must have taken an age to work out and construct the exact moment that the sun would be in that position. It's an architectural masterpiece.

We arrived in Auckland tired and needed to get NZ dollars out, but Laura's bank wouldn't allow her to get any out, so our first night was a bit stressful. (I'm still on at her to ask for compensation from Barclays!). Auckland itself is ok, but we wanted to get out of the city after all the time in Melbourne. So, we hired a car and drove to the Coromandel Peninsular. It is a spectacular place with all sorts going on throughout the coast. So first we just took in the awesome cliff tops and rugged coastline of Mercury Bay and stayed at a lovely town called Whitianga.

In the morning we drove to a part of the coast called Hot Water Beach. Its name gives away the surprise really. The volcanic activity in the rocks means that hot spring water runs down into the sea. You hire a shovel for about a pound and dig your own hole that fills with very hot water. So there we were in the middle of (apparently) the coldest New Zealand Winter for 32 years relaxing in a self dug sand beach jacuzzi. It was almost surreal. I actually burnt my foot as the water was so hot in one spot.

On the same day we went to a gorgeous little beach called Cathedral Cove - so called because there is a massive archway right in the middle of it that you walk under. The weather was perfect, and we sat, eating our packed lunch just looking out to sea!

After that came the town of Rotorua. It has a formidable stench to it - all the volcanic activity means Hydrogen Sulphide leaks into the air which basically means the whole town stinks of rotten eggs. That didn't spoil any of the fun though. We went to a traditional Maori evening first of all. They performed war dances (including the Haka), took us on a gloworm walk, showed us their sacred trout streams and best of all - gave us a traditional "Hangi" meal - which is basically lamb, chicken, stuffing and potatoes all steamed / smoked underground for 3 hours. It tasted amazing.

The same day we walked around the geo-thermal wonderland which is a massive park full of steaming lakes, bubbling mud, erupting geysers and different coloured streams / rocks etc.

Also in Rotorua we visited a Kiwi Breeding programme, including a 1/2 day old Kiwi in an incubator and 3 adult birds. We then went to a Polynesian spa - which is a complex full of natural hot pools to bathe in.

After Rotorua we went straight to Waitomo to do Black Water Rafting. Our session was at 8am in the morning. I cannot describe what it feels like to go Cave rafting (basically swimming) 30 metres underground in -2 degrees celsius. But the experience was awesome - gloworms, stalactites, rafting down waterfalls and caverns etc - all done in a little rubber ring and a wetsuit!

Next to the Lakeside town of Taupo. It has amazing scenery as you'd expect and we'd have liked to have stayed longer but we're on a schedule. The first day I spent fishing in the Waikato River. However, your'e not allowed to use bait there so it was pretty difficult and I caught absolutely nothing, not to worry we did a pub quiz to comiserate - and won absolutely nothing in that either. The next day we did something you don't do every day - jumped out of a perfectly good plane at 12,000ft. I don't think we can fully describe the feeling but it was pretty formidable. The guy I was strapped to gave me commentary on the views - We could actually see both sides of the North Island, with Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea to the West, and Hawke Bay and the South Pacific Ocean to the East. Quite amazing. We paid for a DVD and photos, both of which are pretty funny - turns out I just screamed for the entire duration of the 50 seconds of freefall!

Waking early next morning we went to the Prawn Farm near the Huka Falls. We spent 4 hours prawn fishing and only caught 1 prawn between us ( the bloke opposite caught a dozen!). The restaurant there actually cooked it for us too! one prawn between us!.. it hardly filled the gap. Next stop was on to the tiny village of Turangi, dubbed "Trout Fishing Capital of the World". We stayed in a beautiful pine hostel and needed the sleep, as the next day we did an 8 and a half hour mountain trek up Mount Tongariro (an active Volcano). The mountain itself is 1978 metres high. To put things in perspective - Ben Nevis in Scotland is 1344 metres high! The entire walk was 11 miles through knee deep snow, rocky crevasses, and thick bush. The photos we took are incredible, as the weather could not have been more perfect. From the top of Tongariro we could see where they filmed Mount Doom and Mordor from the Lord of the Rings films. Our guide actually worked on set.

Then on to Wellington, where we are now. Only been here a day, and the only thing we've done is watch England lose at football. So its been pretty good already (joke!). First coincidence of the trip has just happenned - I thought I recognised a bloke in the hostel we are at - asked him where he is from and yep, he drinks in my ex-local - the Cat & Wheel, Bristol. Can't get away from them yokels.

The South Island is regarded by most travellers to be the best of the two. If it's half as good as the North has been it'll be pretty unforgettable.

Till then

Rich and Laura.

PS - Photo's should have been updated here:

www.flickr.com/photos/richandlaura

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