Hey all, I think we have had our time in the sun and the Southern Hemisphere is now catching up with the bad weather you guys have had in the UK, as we head into autumn, its getting a bit cooler and wetter. We flew into Auckland and stayed in Ponsonby for a week. Probably 5 days too long. There is not much in Auckland apart from expensive bars and sailing trips. Minus 5 was a highlight. But we had lots of shopping to do for the winter time and managed to chill out a bit and as the rains came down, we got in some serious reading. We are now in a campervan that we have for 6 weeks, before the winter finally makes it too cold to do anything but curl up by a fire and drink Guinness / coffee. We headed up north of Auckland to - Northland! Where we stayed in the Bay of Islands and then up to Cape Reinga along the 90 mile beach (actually about 90k, you have to watch these Kiwis). We had some great weather and saw some spectacular scenery. Rugged Coastline, Massive Kauri tree forests, sand dunes etc. On the way back south we stayed in Opononi, lovely views out over the fjord and sand dunes with spectacular burning sunsets. We ended up drinking with an english couple and some Kiwi who was paler than me in Feburary but was adamant he was Maori? We had a very high opinion of how much us Pommie b******s could drink and I felt it would have been unpatriotic to show otherwise. This was also the eve of my birthday so had another good reason for a little drinkypoos. The morning after and all that patriotic activity had gone right to my head and felt sorry for myself as we headed down to the Bay of Plenty. On the way we stopped at Hot Water Beach. Yep a beach with hot water volcanic springs. You dig a hole in the sand for your very own mineral bath, Simply add farts for an authentic Jacuzzi feel. There is a bit of an art to digging holes, The first one I dug was just cold water from the sea. The second was right above a spring and it was too hot to sit in. But the third was perfect. In Mount Maunganui we were to meet a friend from Vietnam and had a good night out there. We then headed inland to Rotorua. This place stinks! Everywhere you go there are volcanic vents and bubbling mud pools and hot water streams, all with a sulphurous smell. Highlight was Wai-O-Tapu a massive volcanic park. Will wait for the pictures to explain this. Very interesting. We took some walks to see some of the countryside where I learned about the imagination behind much of the place names in NZ. There was a blueish lake we visited, and this was called Blue Lake, next to it was a lake with a greenish tinge, this was called Green Lake, then down the road there was a turquoise lake called Whangarafafawa! easy eh! We then headed up north an hour to Matamata. The only reason for going there was to see the places they filmed the Hobbiton and Shire scenes for Lord of the Rings. It was alright but nearly all the set had been removed barring some of the hobbit holes. Of my 3 favourite films ever, I have now made pilgrimages to Tunisia to see where they filmed Star Wars and NZ to see Lord of the Rings, all that remains is to find out where they filmed Debbie does Dallas! Next stop Waitomo Caves for an underground adventure. Massive underground limestone caves, covered with glowworms. You also go on a boat along the underground river to where it comes out from the hillside. Amazing to see. We are now in Taupo and slowly coming down off the natural high that comes with jumping out of a perfectly good aeroplane. Yesterday me and Rach did a freefall skydive from 12,000ft. Rachel was not going to do it first of all but we are both glad we did. One of the best things I have ever done. You are dropped from a crowded little plane over Lake Taupo and plummet like a stone for about 45 seconds before parachuting down to the landing site near the airport. Wicked fun. Looking forward to the Bungy jump now. Well off for a spot of trout fishing this afternoon, its all go eh. Keep well. Photos should be up in a couple of weeks. Taraa Andy and Rachel