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Published: April 23rd 2015
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Hello! Beth here! Hope you're all enjoying the sunny English weather - pretty sure the usual English rain transferred to us in the north island of New Zealand but that hasn't disheartened us, oh no!
So let's start where we left off (always good); we left the stunning, beautiful, amazing South Island with a final activity in Kaikoura - kayaking with seals. This was amazing in itself but then we had dolphins join us. They were literally swimming right next to us and under the kayak which was so amazing. We caught them on the GoPro so have a look on Gem's Facebook page to watch the video!
We caught the ferry from Picton to Wellington in the north island. Picton was one of Gems highlights because they gave her free chocolate pudding! Wellington is a small and alright city. It was nothing spectacular although we did a little shopping, saw the city from a viewpoint and went to a tiny museum where we saw props from films like Lord of the Rings, King Kong and Avatar.
Our next stop was Turangi which is just on Lake Taupo. We went in some hot pools which are naturally
thermal and come out of the earth at 98 degrees! Thankfully they cooled it down for us but it was still so hot that we were drained, tired and couldn't move our legs literally so the rest of the day was a right off!!
I had a skydive booked in Taupo so we went there and walked by Huka Falls which is a really powerful stream/rapids and a waterfall. The weather that day was awful so my skydive was moved and we spent the afternoon relaxing in a small thermal part of a river. The sensation of being sat in a boiling stream which is heated by the earth, but which also has freezing cold currents running through it, is very bizarre! Rivers in UK are so boring!
For the second time, my skydive was cancelled so we gave up and went to Rotorua. We watched a geyser erupt to over 20 metres surrounded by steam coming out of the ground in every direction. The thermal activity is massive in this area of New Zealand. It's created beautiful coloured lakes and deep craters with boiling hot mud pools. A mud pool actually erupted right in front of us
and we got covered in boiling hut mud - fair to say New Zealand has left it's mark on us! However, all of this thermalness comes at a price, a very stinky one! Because of the sulphur in the ground, the whole of Rotorua smells like rotten eggs and bad smells (as Gem put it)! That evening we watched a Maori cultural performance and saw the Haka for real! The singing and movement was awesome and we even had a go dancing with a ball on string like the Maori women do - we were on stage in front of an audience swinging a ball thing around and it wasn't our finest moment!
The next day we did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which is in the top ten day hikes in the world. It's over 20km, climbs 2 volcano peaks and for part of it you have to use a rope to get up because it's so steep! We stood above the clouds, skated/fell down the side of a volcano and saw some more beautiful coloured lakes. It was pretty difficult at times but sweets and chocolate got us through it and the views were worth every minute.
On to Waitomo where the famous glow worm caves are! We did a 45 minute tour inside the cave and saw thousands of the bright green bugs on the ceiling as we went through on a little boat! The Bay of Islands was our next destination and it didn't disappoint. We stayed in Paihia in a cabin right by the sea. Our main reason for going there was to swim with bottlenose dolphins. The tour guide decided we didn't need wetsuits (thanks for that tour guide) so we jumped in and nearly drowned because it was so cold! It's actually snowing in the South Island at the moment so you can imagine how cold the water is! It's really hard work chasing after wild dolphins because they swim so fast! We had to make noises and chase them which was good fun - seeing them swim right next to you was incredible and this was definitely one of my favourite activities in New Zealand.
I was supposed to skydive here but it was cancelled yet again. If that's not fate I don't know what is so I've decided to keep my feet firmly on the ground and went for
coffee and cake with gem - a much better way to spend the morning! After leaving the beautiful Bay of Islands we headed to Auckland where we had to say goodbye to our beloved Eldy. We really couldn't have gotten half as far without him and whilst he was a bit naughty (slipping out of gear a lot) etc. we were still very sad to let him go!
Overall we both preferred the South Island to the North Island but they are so different they're almost like separate countries. The scenery in the South is just incredible which makes the driving a lot more enjoyable than the North. Gem definitely preferred the South and was in mourning for a lot of the North Island!
However, now we're in Fiji. Just picture paradise...yeah it's probably better than how you're picturing it hehe not trying to make anyone jealous or anything but....Fiji is incredible! The sea is blue, the sand is yellow, there's clear skies, it's hot, our tans are coming back, the Fijians are SO friendly, the food and cocktails are amazing! This is definitely our holiday in the middle of travelling. We feel very relaxed reading by the pool and going to sleep listening to the sound of the waves outside our cabin! Apart from this we have done a hike to the top of the island we're on, Malolo. In true Gem and Beth style we made a friend and followed a lovely Fijian guy along a track that basically wasn't a track and got very scratched but the view was worth it, as always! We've also walked along the beach when the tide goes right out so we saw loads of little sea creatures. Hundreds of crabs, sea cucumbers, starfish and weird little fish. The other day we went to Cloud 9 which is a floating restaurant, had a snorkel around the coral and had a pizza in the middle of the ocean - it was incredible! So before we leave we'll probably go kayaking, more swimming, play volleyball, sip some more cocktails etc etc etc. this is the life!
On to America next so we'll keep you all updated on our travels there!
See ya! X
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