Arrived Wellington airport at the bottom edge of North Island at close to midnight, a NZ$37,50 taxi ride seeing us to the Inis Hotel in town. The airport seems to be right in the middle of suburbia.

Wednesday 13th March

After a fretful night after a long journey we meet our mates downstairs after breakfast along with Kenrick Mitchel the Kiwi from who we've hired the camper van.

A detailed tour and instruction guide of the van takes nearly an hour but at 12 noon we're on the way and excited. Today we drive to Taupo on one of NZ's biggest lakes famed for pure breed large trout that you can catch but can't buy. We drive about 4 hours and realize New Zealanders are very law abiding on the road.

The motor camp park is great with good views and ablutions and we let Clint and Heike cook we gratefully wash up and crash early.

The next morning we decide to stay another day here and set off for Huka Falls where we walk for a couple of hours towards the worlds second largest geothermal power station - this area is a hot bed of volcanic activity. In the afternoon we take in Craters of the Moon geothermal park then relax in the hot spa pools of the camp then cook again and off to a better sleep.

Friday we drive to Mount Maunganui near Tauranga and on the way witness the geyser Lady Knox erupt at exactly 10:30 with the addition of soap powder - a little Disney but still worth it. Then round the Waiotapu geothermal park which was fascinating and spectacular, including the mud pools, great noise!

The "Mount" as it is locally know is spectacular and on the beach as is the motor park. We treat ourselves to some local beer at a hip local pub then pile in some Chinese food with the locals with which it seems amazingly popular (NZ$20 for all you can eat).

Saturday morning we climb the Mount (240m) and are treated to special views form the top.

It's now off into the Coromandel Peninsula and up the coast to stop at Hahei in the Bay of Plenty where the motor park is right up against the beach. The scenery is reminiscent of Costa Rica and Vietnam, stunning. We get our first showers on the way but it soon clears up. In the afternoon we go to the Hot Water Beach where you can dig a hole at the waters edge and get hot water coming up from below - hectic!

In fact, the water rising through the sand is way too hot - even for me! Lyn