Wellington: The compact capital! Leaving Taupo we got the coach south to Wellington but first passing the Tongariro National Park with its three snow capped volcanic peaks, one of which is Mount Ngauruhoe (or Mount Doom, for Lord of the Rings fans!) and another Mt Ruapehu which last erupted in 1996 and sometimes still emits ash clouds. We were in awe of the whole thing, especially at one particular point where we could see Mount Doom, Mount Tangariro and Mount R...

Lake Taupo: Reach for the skies! The town of Taupo sits right on the edge of New Zealands largest lake, also named Taupo. The focal point here is definitely the lake and the surrounding glorious volcanic landscape. The lake itself is apparently the size of Singapore so you can imagine its scale! Taupo had a real small town vibe but was a very popular tourist destination for fishing, rafting and skydiving. Very spontaneously I decided to do a skydive as its suppo...

Rotorua: Thermal Wonderland On our bus journey to Rotorua, we got our first glimpse of the fantastic scenery of New Zealand. So green, mountain after mountain and unspoilt land absolutely breathtaking!To get a true taste of New Zealand , you have to experience small town life as there are more of these than big cities here. Rotorua was one of those small sleepy towns with a large population of Maori people and home to lots of geothermal activity and the town d...

Auckland: City of Sails We arrived in Auckland after a very tiring and sleepless day. We flew from Sydney very early and had to get up at half four in the morning to get to airport. After arriving at Nomads hostel in centre of Auckland, we went for some food at a nearby cafe and checked out the surrounding area. It was a bit cold in the evening but we didn't expect NZ to be hot so no disappointment. After a well deserved siesta, we went to the top floor of our h...