New Zealand - North Island - Auckland to Wellington

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We departed Auckland at 9am on Saturday 11 August and our first stop was to the top of Mount Eden. This gave us 360 degree views of Auckland before we left. Not long after we joined the motorway, smoke started pouring out from under our bus and we were pulled over by the police. A couple of hours later we were on a replacement bus and heading south towards the Coromandel Peninsula. We stopped in the small town of Thames for lunch before going to Hot Water Beach. Due to our earlier delay, the tide was in and we were unable to dig a hole in the beach near the thermal outlet for a hot soak. It was late afternoon before we arrived in Mercury Bay (Whitianga) and we took a quick tour of the town before checking into our hostel. Spaghetti Bolognese was for dinner at 6pm and we went straight to bed and slept until 11pm. Then we walked to the pub to watch the first game of the season Sunderland Vs Spurs. We got home at 2am and slept until 6.30am before getting up for our bus trip to Rotorua. Our first stop on Sunday was the Karangahake Scenic Reserve to explore the stunning native bush-clad gorge. Although it was pouring down with rain, we still went on a one hour walk that followed the river, crossed over two swing bridges and went through a 1km long railway tunnel used in the gold mining days. We stopped for lunch in Matamata - home of Hobbiton - where the hobbit village from Lord of the Rings still remains. On arrival in Rotorua, some of the group went Zorbing before we all went to the luge tracks. After taking the gondola up to the top of the hill we each got a luge cart and went down the intermediate track. It was surprisingly fast and the rain and wet track made it hard to slow the carts down. We all went down the advanced track on our second run to test it before having a race on our final run. The race became quite competitive and a few people came off the track and out of their carts. We checked into Base Backpackers at 4pm and chilled out at the hostel for the rest of the afternoon. We went out to an Indian restaurant for dinner before returning to the hostel to watch TV. I sat up until 2.30am watching football before getting five hours sleep. On Monday morning, we went to Te Puia which is NZ's most well known thermal area complete with geysers, boiling mud, a live Maori arts and crafts centre and a kiwi bird house. After a breakfast stop, we drove for a couple of hours to Waitomo where we saw a rabbit being sheared. After checking into our hostel, we went for lunch at the local cafe before I returned to the hostel to read, write my blog and listen to music for the rest of the afternoon. After cooking some pasta for dinner, we sat in the TV room for a while before going to bed at 9pm. On Tuesday, we woke up at 7.30am and went Black Water Rafting. We all put on our wetsuits, gumboots and helmets, grabbed a tyre tube and then had a quick briefing before we headed to the entrance of the caves. After some walking through the shallow water, we sat in our tubes and let the current take us through the underground caves. It was a lot of fun and highlights included seeing lots of glowworms, passing under narrow passageways and jumping backwards off mini waterfalls. After over an hour underground, we reached our exit point freezing cold but were soon in a hot shower and then sitting down to a lunch of hot soup and toasted bagels. After lunch, we set off on the bus to Taupo, stopping on the way to see the famous Huka Falls. We arrived in Taupo at 3pm and I went for a walk around the shops. We went out at 6pm to the restaurant next door to the hostel for dinner and drinks. At 8pm, we all walked to Mulligan's bar for a quiz night that included backpackers from all the different bus companies. Our team won and received a $50 bar tab which was just enough for a shot each. When everyone was suitably drunk, we went upstairs to the late night bar Holy Cow and stayed there until 3am. After minimal sleep, we caught our next tour bus on Wednesday morning with only one other person in the group. We traveled via the Lakes District, Whakatane and Opotiki to our accommodation in Te Kaha at the Homestead Lodge. This is situated in an ideal setting on the beach so we took a 2 hour walk before dinner. Our home cooked dinner was a real treat and included mash potatoes, chicken, sausages, cauliflower cheese and other salads and vegetables. I went to sleep at 8.30pm and didn't wake up until 8am on Thursday. After watching some live football, I had breakfast and then we departed at 10.30am for our 2 hour drive to Rangitukia. We followed the rugged coastline south making stops along the way to take in the beautiful coastline scenery before arriving at the Eastenders Farm Stay at 1pm. After a quick lunch, we went horse riding for a couple of hours along the beach and up through the hills. The views from the top of the range were amazing and we even saw a sperm whale that had been washed up on the beach. We collected firewood before having a traditional Maori Hangi dinner. It was raining and very windy after dinner so we decided against the campfire and spent the evening in the TV room. After another early night and a 10 hour sleep, we got up at 8am and departed for Napier. We stopped on the way at Tologa Bay to see NZ's longest wharf stretching 660 metres out into the sea. After lunch in Whangara, we saw Kai Te Hill where Captain James Cook became the first white man to set foot on NZ in 1769. We arrived in Napier at 4.30pm and spent much of the evening catching up on the internet. I did go for a walk on Friday evening and although it was a pretty town, there wasn't much going on. On Saturday morning, we toured the Hawkes Bay region and sampled some cheeses, honey and chocolate before driving up Te Mata Peak. Then we drove back to Taupo with a quick stop at Waipanga Falls. We arrived in Taupo at 2.30pm and went for a walk around the town where I bought 2 t-shirts. Due to heavy rain, we hung around the hostel for the rest of the day. I read magazines, wrote my blog, spent an hour on the internet and had Dominos pizza for dinner. After an early night, we woke up at 7.30am on Sunday and caught our bus heading south to River Valley. After driving around Lake Taupo, we stopped in the town of Turangi (trout fishing capital of the world). Our next stop was Tongariro National Park where we spent a couple of hours walking to Taranaki Falls and exploring the native bush, waterfalls and streams of this alpine volcanic region where a lot of the filming was done for The Lord of the Rings. Further driving took us around Mount Ruapehu and passing through a village called Ohakune before arriving at River Valley Adventure Lodge at 4pm. We sat in the cosy dining area testing ourselves on the sport questions from Trivial Pursuit until a lovely roast dinner was served at 7pm. After a couple of beers, I went to sleep at 9.30pm and woke up at 12.30am to watch Man City Vs Man Utd followed by Liverpool Vs Chelsea. I then slept from 5am to 8am before getting up for white water rafting. After our briefing, we put on all of our gear and were driven to our starting point on the river. Due to excessive rain, the river was very high and with grade 5 rapids, our guide was very strict with us to ensure we all knew what was required to make it safely down the river. The two hours we were on the river were full of excitement and adrenalin and by the end we were very tired and cold. After a quick hot shower and some lunch, we set off on the bus for Wellington. We stopped en route at the town of Bulls where every shop had the word 'Bull' in it. Even the local police station was named Consta-Bull and had a mural of bulls dressed in police uniforms. We arrived in Wellington at 6.30pm and checked into Base Backpackers. That evening we walked around the town and went to an Indian restaurant for dinner where the owner sat and chatted to us as we were his only customers. After an hour on the internet we went to sleep at midnight and then woke up at 6.30am to catch our ferry to the South Island.

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