North Island

Friday was the start of the main tour of the North Island. The group for the start of this was Kerry (driver), Drew, Mark, Keely, Alice, Anita, Jane, Suzanne, Gemma, Jena, Lorraine. The first day was spent getting to and around the Coromandel Penisula to the east of Auckland. This is a very wooded area and is apparently popular as a Christmas retreat for the Kiwis. One of its other 'claims to fame' is that it is a area where a lot of marijuana was grown because of the density of the plant-life. The police used to cut it down and then helicopter out the hauls. However, what they didn't realise was that seeds used to drop out from under the helicopter and spread them even further! Hihei was the destination for the night and we did a walk up to Cathedral Cove before dinner. After dinner we went to the Hot Water beach (had to be visited when the tide was just coming in). There are hot vents (volcanic) under the beach which are normally too hot to do anything with. However, if you dig a hole as the tide is coming in, you can mix the hot water from the vents with the cold sea water to get a comfortable hot tub. No surprises - the girls did very little digging but were the first into the hole!

Next stop was Raglan on the west coast, just the other side of Hamilton. It is mostly famous as a surf area but when we got there it was dull, wet and the sea was very flat so we spent the time in the hostel which was actually a group of buildings built into a clearing in the rainforest. We also had a few sessions on the flying fox, made more interesting by the fact that we couldn't see a thing!

Then it was onto Rotorua, home of a great number of hot mud pools and hence a very strong rotten egg smell due to the sulphur. We attended a Maori cultural show in the evening in which we had to learn the haka as well as the use of some Maori weaponry. Then it was back to the hostel bar for a few drinks (well, quite a few actually).

The hangover the next morning was probably not the best preparation for what I was to do next. Unfortunately the zorbing was cancelled but was still able to do the Swoop (lifted up 40m in the air and then dropped to swing back and forth between two pylons) and a (small) Jet boat course. Didn't feel quite so hungover after that but I'm not sure I would recommend it as a standard cure! After that I took a leisurely walk around some of the hot mud pools in the park in the centre of the city before getting back on the bus to head up to Taupo via the Huka Falls. We were hoping to do our skydives in Taupo that afternoon but it was too cloudy and wet for many of us to get up. This meant a mixed evening for us as some people were able to celebrate having done the dive whilst the rest of us knew that we had a very early start.

The next morning was a very early start for all of us left to skydive. However, I think we had the better deal as the sky was a lot clearer (but there were still some clouds to dive through) and we could see both the lake and the mountains that we would be walking through a few hours later. The Tongariro crossing is meant to be one of the great one day walks in New Zealand, if not the world. Some of it is very familiar to anyone who has seen 'The Lord of the Rings' as it goes past Mount Doom from the film (although there wasn't enough time for us to climb it). The first half of the walk is very impressive, walking through lava plains, past steam vents and some very colourful lakes. The second half of the walk was less impressive as it was quite a long trek through a sub-alpine environment. The total walk is about 17km but it didn't really feel that bad - I'm not sure whether that was due to still being on a high from the skydive or having the chance to relax in a spa pool once we got back to the hostel (which was more like a hotel than a hostel).

Wednesday was very much a express journey down to Wellington with little to see along the way. I wonder if that is why we have such a big night out there and also - why did we bother getting beds - by the time we got back to the hostel it was time to catch the shuttle bus to the ferry for the South Island!

Northland

Tuesday was the start of a Stray tour of both islands, beginning with Northland (the long bit that sticks out the top of North Island). It is most famous for the Kauri forests (big trees!), the Bay of Islands and beaches. Most of Tuesday, however, was spent travelling up to Pihia, which is the main base for the Bay of Islands, stopping off at the occasional forest or park to look at the wildlife (mainly plants and birds) but included the Goat Island reserve for some sealife spotting.

The next day also involved a lot of travel but there was more to do along the way as we were taking a 4WD to the top end of the island and then back to Pihia. Along the way we drove along 90 mile beach which is actually only 64 miles long but the Kiwis wanted to have a bigger beach than the Aussies! It actually is classed as a national highway, with a 100 kph speed limit - not that there is much chance of exceeded that in most places! Along the side of the beach are a series on steep sand dunes so it was time for more sand boarding but the wipeouts were a little less spectacular. Following the boarding we continued up to Cape Reinga at the extreme north end to see the point at which the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific. Unfortunately it was a little overcast and flat and so the transition was not as obvious as it can apparantly be at times. The day ended with fish and chips at the 'world famous' Mangonui Fish Shop - world famous primarily for the fact that most overseas tourists are taken there!

Thursday morning was spent cruising in the Bay of Islands, including some dolphin watching. As there were babies in the pod no-one was allowed to go swimming with them which is probably just as well as the night before had gone on for quite a bit longer than expected! The rest of the day was spent continuing the hangover recovery before heading back to Auckland.

Auckland

I arrived in Auckland on a Monday and decided that I really ought to settle down for a little while and catch up on things like getting my blog up-to-date as it was already 2 months out-of-date and I'd only been travelling for 3! Caught up with a few friends whilst I was there (Mikey from the Feejee Experience tour and Jo from the time in New Orleans). I did spend some time around the city (visiting Victoria Market and Devonport and watching the firework display on Guy Fawkes Night - 5 November for those of you who don't know) but mostly it was a case of sorting myself out and getting ready for the next stage. The main thing that stuck out from that week was the fire alarm going off in the early hours of Saturday night - lots of people hanging around the hostel wondering what the do next - time for an early breakfast?