New Zealand - North Island

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Hello all, hope you are well. I miss you a lot 😊 Am still really enjoying myself though, don't worry.

So, New Zealand..........so far it's the only place I've been where I've thought I might want to stay forever - Mum/Gem/Joanne etc don't panic, I will come home 😊


DAY 1 - Auckland to Whitianga
After a very quiet night the night before (think we were in bed by 9.30 or something like that!) we got up bright and early to start our Kiwi Experience tour. 'Pete' our driver picked us up and we got onto a full bus which was a bit scary as nobody looked very happy! We went to the Kiwi Office to sort everything out and then left. Our first stop was Mount Eden (on the way there I was VERY excited to see a Gillies Avenue - too late to get a photo though, sorry Drew) which gave us a brilliant view of Auckland. We could see out to the point that Terry took us to the week before (where we could see all the way to Auckland) which was really cool. We saw the volcano crater which is now really lovely and grassy, hard to believe how it might have looked when it erupted. I was re-assured as felt a bit worried about the fact we were surrounded by so many volcanoes! We also saw Eden Park where the first game, semis and final of the Rugby World Cup is going to be played next year. Caz was a bit concerned to learn that (to be honest even I was a bit concerned and I'm not even a big Rugby fan) there is only 1 pub in the area and that nothing can happen after 9.30pm?!!! I'll be really interested to hear how the Rugby fans get on next year. After Mount Eden we headed out to the Coromandel Peninsula, to Cathedral Cove. We didn't actually make it there as Caryl still wasn't feeling very well which was a relief for me as I'm not a fan of uphill walks so we went to Gemstone Bay which was really pretty although we had to sunbathe on the rocks so it wasn't too comfy. It was quite interesting though as it seemed there was lots of good stuff to see in the sea if you are into snorkeling and the like (we could hear all those in the sea talking about it). We then went onto Whitianga where we were staying at the Turtle Cove hostel (highly recommended) for our first night in a proper dorm. It was actually really nice, all girls, brand new en-suite, I would have been pleased with a bathroom like that at home. We had a nice dinner at the hostel then started making friends. Our table got bigger and bigger as the girls joined us and we played various drinking games. It was a bit like a school disco though, boys one end, girls the other. The boys got brave and came over and asked us out to town (ahhhh) so we went out with the locals. The place was full of stag parties, apparently it's a good place for fishing (we were wondering what would attract stag parties there as it was so quiet). We didn't have a late night.


DAY 2 - Whitianga to Rotorua
The journey to Rotorua took us through beautiful scenery - we saw old volcano craters that are now islands in a perfect circle, we went to Krangahake Gorge where we were supposed to do a nice walk but it was tipping with rain and we didn't have our waterproofs out (aka we didn't have waterproofs so had to go and buy some later). So we stayed on the bus and got chatting to people, had a nice chat with Beetle and his friend Ben who reminded me soooooo much of Stevie Holder. We stopped for lunch in Matamata which is near where all the scenes for Hobbiton were filmed, apparently it's not worth visiting the set but they are about to rebuild it for the filming of The Hobbit. We went onto Rotorua which does smell really funny (mixture of rotten eggs and knowing it's sulphur), was a bit worried about spending a night there but you get used to it. We went to the Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Park to see the geysers which was really cool although it smelt even worse there, it gave me a headache that just lasted whilst we were near the geysers. We saw the bubbling mud and some real life Kiwis although they were quite hard to see as they were in a nocturnal enclosure. They were bigger than I expected but quite cute, I felt sorry for them being all shut up like that but they need to be looked after as they are so endangered. The guide told us we'd be able to take pictures of some in the shop called Rigor and Mortis so we were looking forward to that........... At the park there is also a woodcarving school which is currently carving the entrance to the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai and a weaving school. We had a nice half hour in the shop trying out the mud products (had to buy some) and looking for Rigor and Mortis. I can't believe we fell for it, they ended up being stuffed. That night we went to a Maori night which was really interesting. Alan from our group had to act as the chief and line up with the other chiefs at the entrance. The idea was that they had to show the Maori tribe whether we were all coming in peace that night. I would have been scared if I was Alan as he had a load of huge Maori's running at them with sticks and doing the Haka. But, they passed the test and we were allowed into the replica village. There was a really nice atmosphere and we had a show of singing and dancing and more of the Haka. And then we had the nicest dinner I have had since staying with Jenny in Pukekohe (t wasn't as nice though)! It was cooked in a Hake oven which is a hole in the ground with hot rocks over. At Rotorua we had a first dorm share with BOYS!!! We were with 3 lovely lads from Banbury of all places that were on our bus the next day.


DAY 3 - Rotorua to Waitomo
On the way out of Rotorua we stopped off to let some from the bus have a go at Zorbing. I would have given it a go if I didn't have to get wet to do it but it was funny watching the boys do it! Caryl also got her first glimpse of cows with a big white band round them, she has fallen in love with them! On the way into Waitomo we stopped at what Pete/Bob/etc called the Bonny Bondage shed. If you look at the photos you will see why. It was so random. German Angora Rabbit Shearing; although they were trying to tell us that it was for the rabbits safety (if you don't shear them they die) they have basically been bred to produce Angora wool, think they're a bit like battery hens. It seemed a bit wrong. When we arrived in Waitomo we went on a really nice bush walk and then to the glowworm caves which I loved!!!!!!! We could have done Blackwater Rafting (i.e. rafting but in the caves) but I thought I'd get a bit freaked by that so we went on a nice walk and short boat ride which was so worth it. On the boat you go into caves where there were thousands and thousands of glowworms all over the walls and roof - it looked like a 3D picture and as Maff said to me it's the closest you'll get to space on earth. That night we had a really nice dorm with Sue (our great Irish friend) and Alex (one of the lovely Banbury lads). We spent the night in Curly's Bar as there really wasn't much else to do in Waitomo and were entertained by the 5 Reading lads who are absolutely crazy. You don't want to know all that happened.


DAY 4 - Waitomo to Taupo and Day 5 Taupo
The drive to Taupo was really nice but for some reason it's REALLY hard to stay awake on the bus. I keep missing scenery! On the way into Taupo we stopped at the beautiful Huka Falls. Although not anywhere near as big as Iguazu it was impressive, the water was a beautiful ice blue and was moving very fast. In Taupo the weather was awful and although it all looked lovely we couldn't do much. The Tongariro Crossing walk we really wanted to do was cancelled so we ended up the night before we were supposed to be doing that at the Pub Quiz. We came 2nd, with the help of some of you lovely folk from home (we were told EXCESSIVE cheating was not allowed but a bit was OK!). We went onto Elements (the Base Hostel Bar) for some dancing and had a great night. The boys and Lucy had a dance off which was very funny. The next day we were still in Taupo and as we weren't feeling too great (just tired Dad, promise) after the night before we just slept and ate (what was apparently the best breakfast in New Zealand, it was good!) and went for a nice walk by the lake at sunset. There was someone swimming in it (proper style, as in how people would do serious lane swinning at home) which I was quite impressed with. Caryl and I were in a dorm with Sue and we went to bed really early although didn't get to sleep early because of the Reading lads. They chased me down a corridor in my PJs (I was trying to have a nice conversation on the phone) and then after I'd locked myself in our bathroom banged very loudly on the door for several minutes trying to get us to come out. Poor Sue and Caz were scared stiff!


DAY 6 - Taupo to River Valley
On the way out of Taupo we saw a Welsh Flag which was randomly in the middle of nowhere, no idea why it was there! We stopped to see the view of Lake Taupo, it is huge!!! Lake Taupo was the scene of the biggest volcano eruption (super volcanic) ever recorded on earth (26500 years ago). It was so big that it is recorded in Roman and Chinese history how it made the sky go red for years. We drove on into the Tongariro National Park and our first glimpse of Mount Ngarahoe (aka Mount Doom) was really exciting! We also saw Mount Ruapehu (aka Mordor) which is still a very active volcano (as is Mount Doom but more so). We took a walk to Taranaki Falls which is where they filmed the scene in LotR in which Golem is fishing and ends up with bows and arrows pointing at him. It was the classic example of there being too many people about when the Kiwi Experience bus arrives though, you couldn't get a clear shot of the falls. The scenery throughout the park was so nice, tree covered volcanoes, big rivers, and it’s so obvious why Lord of the Rings was filmed here.


DAYS 6 & 7 - River Valley
We arrived in River Valley Lodge (think the nearest actual place is Taihape) at 6ish after driving over rolling hills covered in sheep. The Lodge is in a stunning place, in a narrow gorge next to the river. We had the option of sleeping in a 32 share dorm or a 6 share dorm. The prospect of sharing with the Reading lads (they are lovely but really crazy after a few drinks!) put us off the 32 bed dorm so we ended up in the 6 bed! The river was freezing but it didn't put people off (mainly the boys although some of the brave girls had a go) jumping in. I was not keen as they all looked absolutely freezing once in there! There was a pulley bridge across the river and it was really funny watching people flying across and then falling off. We went in the hot tub with a glass of wine which was lovely but REALLY hot. That evening we had a really good night playing Jenga, watching the boys do crazy stuff and making friends with the rafting guys. We were glad we didn't ended up in the 32 bed dorm as most of them got covered with silly string.....The next morning we were up at 7.45am to white water raft on the Rangitikei River. I was a bit nervous after my conversations with Arnie (apparently it is a pretty scary river, one of the most 'technically demanding' commercially rafted rivers in the world, people have died on it, there's more risk doing it than bungy jumping) the night before but as I'd promised Maff I'd give it a go I thought I'd better had. We got into our thermals and wetsuits which were really attractive (!!!) and went on the mini bus to the start. After getting our life jackets and having our safety briefing we were on the raft. I was on with Arnie, Alan (aka the Chief), Alison, Neil and Keeley. It started off really nice and slow whilst we learned what we were supposed to be doing and all of Arnie's commands (Forward, Back Paddle, Jump Left/Right, Hold On, Get Down) and then we went on through the Grade 3, 4 and 5 rapids - we had 1 1/2 hours of them. I wasn't actually that scared whilst we were doing it (scariest bit was jumping off a 6m rock into freezing water), we felt reassured by Arnie and the whole set up (each raft looked after the other, the guides are impressive, am now liking rafters more than footballers........!), but it was pretty intense. The water was 3 x higher than it normally is at this time of year but still nowhere near a really dangerous level. It got a bit hairy at times, usually when one of us wasn't doing something properly (quite often me, I seemed to confuse Hold On which just basically means Hold On with Get Down which is Get Down into the boat a lot. I was also a bit slow on the uptake sometimes, you all know what I'm like). At one point at the top of a rapid Alan somehow came out of the boat and Arnie was all 'Get him, grab him etc' which was really scary (I don't think it was the best place for Alan to fall out), we were all over the place. In another place we got stuck on a rock (seemed to happen a lot) and couldn't get off and the raft filled completely with water. I was starting to worry then Arnie and Alan got us off. The whole experience was brilliant, loved it (have been dreaming about rafting ever since) and I will do it again. I'm quite pleased I managed to stay in the boat, not sure if that's because I was quite good at fixing myself there or because I wasn't very good at doing the paddling. We got back to the Lodge, had a lovely hot shower and something to eat and then left, I was sad to leave as it was a lovely place. Have got some photos of us rafting so will upload them at some point. The scenery also was great when we had a chance to look at it.


DAY 7 - River Valley to Wellington
I was really tired after the rafting and slept most of the way to Wellington (I don't know what it is about these buses, I've never been able to sleep in cars, on buses or planes before but I can't stay away on buses here) which was a shame as the scenery was amazing as always. We stopped at a place called Bulls where every sign seems to have Bull in it (e.g. for the Police Consta-Bull). I was due to meet Debbie, Mike's (Heather Gillies' fiancé) Mum and Fergus' (my godsons) grandma but we got into Wellington too late so will have to do that another time. I was really looking forward to it so it was a bit sad about that. The coastline entering Wellington was AWESOME! Mike you are SOOOO lucky to come from there! We had our last night out with the majority of our group which was really fun. We didn't spend much time seeing Wellington which was a shame because it looked lovely, we had to leave a 7am the next morning for our ferry to the South Island.


More about the South Island next time.............love you all loads!! Xx

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