New Zealand's North Island Part 2 and my first Birthday away from home

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10th October-So I'm back on the kiwi bus woo hoo! Back with my buddies 😊 We're off to Rotorua today. On the way we had the option of stopping off at Hobbiton which is the village set built for the Hobbit movie. Now I haven't seen this movie but apparently it's amazing so I thought I should do it. All the hobbit holes were super cute and the views were amazing! We got a free beer or cider at the Dragon Inn pub too. Me and Holly bought these Devine raspberry and chocolate chip muffins and dressed up in old fashioned clothes lol! We all then jumped back on the bus and stopped in Rotorua to buy our tickets for the Maori village overnight stay. Maori's are the native people of New Zealand. After a little wander around the town we all boarded the bus to the village. When we arrived we had to assign one of our guys as the chief so we chose a Norwegian guy called Steffen for the job. We were welcomed with a speech in Maori language and Steffen had to give one back so he did it in his own language which I thought was really cool. We all then had to sing them a song so chose the chorus of Wonderwall. We were then taken inside for afternoon tea which was to die for! Afterwards we were split into two groups and my group had to play the stick game where you all have a stick, chant and throw the sticks to the next person. It's all about testing your hand-eye co-ordination. We cracked it in the end so apparently we've earned our kiwi driver a point. After this we learned how to strip the fibre off leaves and plait it into a rope. The rope is really long because they get all kiwi groups to contribute to it. Once both groups were done we learned a song and dance that we have to perform after dinner to other guests who aren't staying overnight.

We all then made our way to the village and went around several little huts where we were shown different things. The Chiefs had to learn a dance, I got picked at the next hut to practice swinging around this bauble thing attached to a piece of string in a certain way, we saw a different stick game, how they made clothes from the leaf fibres and finally how they used to do Maori tattoos....it looks brutal! We then made our way inside for a concert performed by the men and women in their native dress. Once the concert was over we went to the dining hall for dinner which was a buffet style Sunday dinner....I had lamb and mint sauce omg!! Nom nom! After that we performed our dance for everyone and then made our way back to our houses as they call them. Fifteen of us were all in a massive dorm that had Maori carvings everywhere. There are patterns on the main beam in the middle of the roof and the same going down the sides. They call these the spine and the ribs of the spirit of the house. We finished off the night by chilling with drinks in the hot tubs. It was absolutely freezing but amazing once you were in. I've always wanted to do that ski ing. There are a group of girls that are really clicky and bitchy and I just can't stand them. There's one in particular that really gets on my tits! She's got a right attitude problem.

11th of October-Today the plan was to go to Taupo but I was on the waiting list for the bus and really wanted to go with my friends so Dylan our bus driver very kindly organised for the office to book and pay for me to get on a public bus and meet everyone there. Before this though he dropped some people off to see the geysers (I wasn't that bothered because I've seen them in Yellowstone) and then came back for me to take me with the others to the Redwood forest. I did a twenty minute stroll before heading back to the bus for him to drop me at the main bus stop back in town. I arrived in Taupo about two hours before everyone else so decided to have a scout about. I found myself in McDonald's with a fillet o fish meal oops! Good news though....they're doing the monopoly game and I won a free attraction pass 😊 I decided to opt for a martial arts lesson in Wellington 😊 I met everyone from the bus and Dylan said someone's staying longer in Taupo so I have a space on the bus again woop woop! Stupid people in the office trying to fuck everything up for me. Grr!

A couple of us headed around the shops and I bought a new pair of jeans and a dress. My jeans are a size 16....I am absolutely devastated! Although they are a tad loose. But a 14 just wasn't going to work 😞 But you know what? I'm just gonna embrace the chubbiness. The tit that served me didn't take off the security tag though doh! I then took myself off to bed for a snooze before getting ready to go out. There were 2 for 1 drinks in the bar downstairs and in hindsight this was not a good idea as we had to be up at 5am to go on an all day mountain hike over the Tongariro crossing. Obviously before the night was out I went seeking chippies and ended up putting my foot in a pot hole and falling down 😞 cracking my beautiful hand crafted coconut bracelet....not happy! But I do have all the pieces so am gonna try and stick them back together.

12th October-So this morning I woke up drunk and with a blue face....with the vague memories of there being paints on the bar and us all attacking each other with them...I got off lightly really. We set off on the bus for an hour and a half to the base of the trail....by which point I was feeling rather sick. Obviously again I was the slowest so naturally got left behind. Not a bad thing today considering I puked an hour into the trek. The views were beautiful and I got to walk through a crater full of snow. We also walked past Mount Doom which is apparently in the Lord of the Rings movies....it's all about Lord of the Rings here! There was a rather steep bit after this where I had to sit down like ten times and force feed myself a breakfast bar as I had the shakes....why oh why do I do this to myself! Finally I crossed the finish line after seven and a half hours and slept all the way back to the hostel. My evening was spent lying down, eating and watching TV. I also phoned my Nan with one of the girls phones as she had free calls to the UK....which made her day bless her! She was so pleased to hear I was coming home in March as she thought it was next October lol!

13th October-Today we left beautiful Taupo and Made our way to River Valley. We stopped to do a 45 minute hike to a waterfall near the snowy mountains and to have lunch and then hopped back on the bus. River Valley is right out in the countryside and is beautiful. We had the afternoon to chill so I took my crackers and humous and sat on the bank watching people play frisbee and others playing with the baby pet lamb....adorable! This one's not for din dins! After dinner our bus driver organised for us to have a crazy hat party for one of the girls Birthdays bless him! I bought a ladybird hat so obviously wasn't gonna win but it was still cute. We played two challenges, the first of which was that you had to lie on a table and get yourself under it and back on top without touching the floor. Only two people managed it....I fell straight off the side ouch! Then there was the chair and box challenge. You had to pick up the box with your mouth without touching the floor....I tried like five times and could get the box but couldn't get back up 😞 I think it's the flub holding me back again! I worked my way through a bottle of bubbles and a crunchie bar so was happy. Our dorms were loads of beds that were all touching each other....cute but very cosy!

14th October-This morning we all went off to do activities. Most people did the white water rafting but I did the horse riding with two others. I was on the lead horse Honey and she was such a diva! Ears went right back if she didn't get her own way. When we got to an open space the guide let me canter a few times which was fun and I had my chesty on with my go pro 😊 I forgot to press record when we cantered though and when I did a video of us trotting she was swishing her head around and Arie's horse ran into the fence....idiot! We then headed back to the lodge for lunch (for which I had a tin of Irish stew but the food the made fresh was so tempting I just had to get a mushroom and cheese baguette....amazing!) before getting on the bus. We were making our way to Wellington but I jumped off in Bulls where my friend Sunny who I met in the USA met me. I was so excited to see her 😊 We stopped the night in Manakau with her grandparents who were so sweet! They bought us really tasty fish and chips for dinner and her gramps made us a lush cooked breakfast in the morning 😊 I could have stayed there forever! Makes me miss my Nan even more.

15th October-So after a nice lie in and lovely breakfast Sunny took me to visit the local shops and we stopped for a coffee before heading back to pick up our bags. We stopped on the way at their local Mari (it's like a house with carvings outside....like a temple) to take some pictures and Sunny walked me towards it and called me in...she said that now I'll be safe to enter a Mari anytime I like 😊 We then made our way to Wellington and stopped to check out the tattoo shop when we got there to have a browse. I know what I want and I've been researching the dude that works at ALC speakeasy tattoo studio. He's an English guy and has been doing it for seven years and has loads of good reviews. We weren't sure when to eat so we went to a place called burger fuel where I had a chicken burger that was the size of my head! We then stopped for a cider on some bean bags on a green to wait for Sunny's friend that we're going to be staying with. Me and Sunny decided we need to do a detox diet so nipped to the supermarket on the way to her friends house for fruit and soup. I spent the evening finalising my ideas for my tattoo to take in tomorrow.

16th October-This morning after a far too healthy breakfast we headed into town on the bus and met my friend Holly from the kiwi bus at the tattoo shop as she wants one too. Now I don't normally do this but as I was excited/nervous about the tattoo I forgot to introduce them to each other. So when I was chatting to the tattoo guy who was very quirky looking but hot, I suddenly realised I'd forgotten to introduce them so turned around to get Sunny and she'd just vanished! After we'd got our tattoos designed and appointments booked for this afternoon, we headed to the coffee shop across the road and I messaged Sunny to see where she was. After a few drawn out messages I basically learned that she had far better things to be doing with her time than spending it with someone who's priority is herself and who doesn't respect her enough to introduce her to her friends. Bit sensitive I think! I was quite upset by this and it definitely tainted what was supposed to be a fun and exciting day for me. Maybe that was her aim. I think there must definitely be some issues going on there :/ She was like 'no hard feelings, I'll drop your stuff off at the hostel'....erm I think I have a few hard feelings! Bitch! The coward didn't even have the decency to meet with me when she dropped the bags off...just left them at reception.

Anyways, back to our day....if that's not too selfish ofcourse! Me, Holly and Hayley went to the Te Papa museum. Now you know I hate museums but this one is pretty cool. We went into this little house that had a programme on about earthquakes and then it started to shake as if we were in one....pretty cool. There's a dinosaur exhibit that I want to go to but we didn't have time so I think I'll go back sometime. Finally the tattoo time arrived and I was sat on the table with my stencil on my ribs ready to go! I was bricking it but knew I really wanted it. It's not as bad as I thought it would be and I had it done in a painful place. I got a feather that looks like it's just landed on the ground and a quote that I slightly changed about travelling. I got the feather because it symbolises dreams and reminds me of when you find a white feather.....like a sign from someone who's no longer with us. I love it and can't stop looking at it all the time. I've got to wash it twice a day and apply the cream they gave me. Holly had a compass on her back. I had a free dinner at the hostel and a couple of us went to the cinema to see Gone Girl.....really weird, but good.

17th October-Today I said goodbye to a few of the girls leaving on the kiwi bus.....one of them being my tattoo buddy Holly 😞 sniff sniff! I didn't do a lot today. Just face timed Stace and watched TV. I did venture out to get my toenails done and get the tag taken off my jeans. I don't know what I did to my one big toe but the nail is dead and looks like it's going to drop off so I just got her to shellac over it so it looks nice and pretty 😊 I'm saving myself for Birthday celebrations tomorrow night.

18th October-I decided I should probably do something today so went on the hostel's free guided walk up to the Mount Victoria lookout....the hill was a bit of a bitch but the view was amazing. On the way back down there was a green where people were drinking, rolling down the hill and swinging on a tree with a seat made on the end of some rope. I wanna do that! Me and Fiona said we would when I pass back through Wellington after my farm. New Zealand is full of fun free things to do. Like you'll be walking down the street in town and there'll be giant chess or yoga twister for you to have a go at. On the way back to the hostel me and Fiona stopped for a Vietnamese dinner and I topped it off with a gorgeous waffle from this little hole in the wall on the street. I know I know I'm not doing so well with the diet....I'll be good on my farm, promise! So after all the food I consumed I took myself off for a nap before getting dolled up for our night out. The Irish couple that left this morning had loads of free vouchers for breakfast, dinner and drinks so we used the drinks ones. Honestly I don't know why I buy my own food to cook because it seems way cheaper to just eat out. There was a game at the bar where you had to balance a coin on a lemon in a jug of water for five seconds to win a free drink. So obviously I chose a small copper coin and did it woop! I also got a free tequila shot as it was my Birthday. The night wasn't as much fun as I'd hoped because no one could really settle on a place to be and we wandered around a lot. So it was a bit of a flop....but I did eat an amazing steak and cheese pie from the local shop mmmm! It was still a late one....I think I got to bed around 3am.

19th October-Happy Birthday to me woop woop! 😊 26?! Ah! I am now officially the wrong side of my twenties :/ I opened my three cards from my Nan, Sis and Nephews that I've carried around for the past six months and my sis had written lots of soppy things which made me miss home. I was quite miserable for the first half of the day as last night was a flop and I only had one friend to celebrate with. But then we ventured out to the Diwali festival down by the harbour in the afternoon and ended up in a pub that had lots of free drinks promotions. The group just kept getting bigger and we were there until like 10pm when there were fireworks over the water. I also got a fair bit of flirting in too 😊 So I think it's fine to say the day got better and ended well. I did some skyping before bed and was a happy lady! Here's to another year older and probably not any wiser! Xx

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