I have been in New Zealand for over a month so thought I should update my blog. All I have to say is I have fallen in love with the country!! From my last blog I decided to go with Stray tours to get around the Islands and overall it's been a great experience!! Firstly, I went to the far North of New Zealand to the Bay of Islands & Cape Reinga. It was a very good trip where I watched dolphins swim in the sea, go sand-boarding, travel down a ninety mile beach (actually only 55m), go to the Northern most point where the Tasman sea meets Pacific ocean & ate the most delicious fish. However on the way back I was not a happy bunny - Stray had a 6 seater vehicle with a list of 7 people! Mostly everybody had to get to Auckland by a certain time so I volunteered to go by Intercity (paid of course by Stray). However I found out they had a few stops on the way which I did not get & also I had a bus driver that was a complete psycho on Intercity!Anyway of course I moaned to the company, and after awhile they compensated me.

I got back to Auckland & decided to stay for a few days before doing the rest of the trip so I could watch the World Cup final (yeaaah Espana!!) & watch a tri-nation rugby match at Eden Park between South Africa and NZ, where the All-Blacks convincingly won. During my few days there I climbed Mt Eden (which is a hill) with some good 360 views of Auckland, and visited Victoria market.

I have to say my Stray trip has gone without any hitch going south from Auckland & have had a great time on the buses. I have seen & done so many things on this tour so I will split it into two blogs! One of the first stops was the hot water beach where if you dig into sand just using your feet/hands you feel hot water due to tectonic plates - it's bloody weird when the tide from the sea comes in & you experience both sensations (hot & cold)!Our first night was in Cathedral cove, a picturesque place by the sea (chronicles of Narnia has been filmed here).The next night was at a place called Raglan that is great for surfing, but I decided to go on this walk with over 30 dead possums' on route, however the view was well worth at the top.

Next day we stopped off at Waitomo caves, I decided to go caving by toobing. It was a crackin' experience, really good fun with having to swim in the caves etc (water was freezing!!) However there was another option at same time to check out rabbits getting sheared - it was a close run thing of what to do!In the evening at Maketu we were invited by a Maori 'family' into their home. They performed the greeting, traditional songs & the Haka. Of course the Stray group had to perform their own routines with the lads doing the Haka & the girls performing/dancing with the ploy (ball on strings). I think I did ok, but during the rehearsal I could not stop smiling & was told to keep a straight angry face.When it came to the Haka I really did not have much of a clue (I wish I knew in advance that the words would be written on the wall) - I was chanting all kinds of gibberish!Everybody liked the performance & the girls were as fantastic.

The following day I went white water rafting near Rotorua - it was amazing, some people say it's scarier than bungy-jumping or sky-diving (cobblers I say!!) Biggest drop was a 7m waterfall where it feels like you are submerged under the water. I decided to stop off in Rotorua, to check out the sights and smells! Went on a very long walk and got lost, basically it's a thermalarea - the whole place smells of eggs but you do get used to it! While there I went to a hot/cold river at night - it was like being in a bath but in the open air & nature controls the temperature. Also went to a 'living thermal village' called Whakarewarewa where people (Maoris') live by thermals baths/geysers! Uses them essentially for cooking their food & its apparently healthy.

My next destination was Taupo but on this day I was rough (think I came down with man flu) - just went to lake for a few pics & was in bed for rest of evening. I am looking to go back to Taupo to further explore at a later date. I recovered sort of the next day to go on the Tongariro crossing (one of the best walks in the world apparently!) It was very knackering and all our efforts to get to the top were in vein - weather was appalling and visibility was pretty much nil. It was an achievement that we done it but was a pity with the views (Becks on the trip was not a happy so&so!) However, the company are willing to let us to the crossing again for free (so may fit it in before I leave NZ).

Final stop on the North Island was Wellington the capital city, I arrived on my birthday. I spent some of the day in the National museum which was fascinating. Went out later on for a few drinks - so thank you Becks, Becky, Cait, Hannah, Laura, Richard & Stefan for celebrating. We went out to a Welsh pub & a place called the Basement in Wellington, now this is a bit of a coincidence. Last year I went to Newport for my b'day & went to Welsh bars & to my favourite club in Wales called the Basement - how weird is that!! The next couple of days I went to visit Parliament buildings, and general sightseeing in the centre. I will write up the South Island trip in the next few days hopefully, miss you all!