Well then. Alot has been achieved in a very short space of time. But, more importantly, the weather has got a lot warmer over the past few weeks. Due to this we are sitting in shorts and t-shirts in a very nice campsite at Hot Water Beach on the Coromandel peninsular on the north island. The north being at least 5 degrees warmer than the south. Good times.

Last time we wrote we were getting ready to go on a wine tour around Blenheim which we hoped would be in at least fair weather as the day before was bright sunshine. And on the morning of the tour we were not disappointed. We set off on our tandem, albeit a tad shaky and headed to our first winery, Forrest. As we sat outside tasting a free selection of 6 wines the sun shone down just as well as it had done the day before. It was still pretty chilly, but nothing matters when the sun is out. We spent about an hour here drinking at 11 in the morning and playing petanque. From there we headed across the road to our next cellar door. I was starting to get the hang of the steering and Gen assures me she was peddling as hard as she could, but for all I know he could have just been side saddle and enjoying the ride! After some more free tastings we were well on our way to being pretty merry, which was a good thing as this was when the heavens opened and the rain came down, heavily. The kind of rainstorm that you get wet just looking at it. After about 20mins waiting for it to slow, we realised this was another one of those new zealand showers that never stop. So off we headed. We made it to 6 wineries, a deli that gave us some free shots and a chocolate factory. By half 5 we were soaked right though and well drunk. At one point we were cycling along with fork lightening going on all around us! The reception from all the wineries was that of shock that we were actually out in this (the worst weather they had had in a long time). Once they had got over this everyone was very welcoming and generous. At one point I needed some Allen keys to fix the handlebars and they went off into the factory to find me some. It was a quality day which could only have been improved by the weather, but we are so used to it now it didn't really bother us.

After a couple more days spent in Blenheim to watch the semi finals we headed to Picton to get our ferry back up north. It was quite sad to say goodbye to the south island after having seen whales, seals, dolphins, glaciers, panoramic views of snow capped mountains, incredible waterfalls at the sound, and enjoyed the relaxed pace of life down there. There is so much more we would like to have done but there are plenty more places to explore up north as well.

As it was my birthday the day after we got back up north, we booked ourselves a couple of nights in a hotel in wellington. Thanks to a broken window, we also managed a free upgrade! Good times. Both nights at the hotel were spent eating pizza and drinking beer and making the most of having a much bigger space to live in. On my birthday we did venture out to look round windy welly and were not disappointed. It is a very cool city. We met some really friendly people there and samples plenty of there locally brewed ales. It was an excellent day.

From there we headed to Tongariro. Possibly to do the crossing, or take a
hike up mount doom. However, when we got there we were informed that due to a massive load of snow that has been falling over the past week, and the gale force winds that were now upon them, neither of these would be possible. We hung around a few days to see if it would improve but eventually had to cut our losses and head off. It is clearly a summer activity. While we were there though we did take a walk to see the beautiful taranaki falls, take a dip in a natural hot springs pool and spend an afternoon in taupo. While in taupo we took a trip to see the powerful huka falls and the eery craters of the moon (an area of land where steam hisses out from craters and makes the whole place look a bit like a film set).

We left Tongariro to go and see Craig an Alex one last time in new plymouth. We had an excellent time with them and watched the final in the fanzone there. The atmosphere was incredible and the party afterwards was an all nighter. I'm very glad the all blacks won as if they hadn't our last few weeks here would have been a lot less enjoyable being surrounded by depressed kiwis. It was great hanging out with Craig and al again and its a
shame we won't see them again for a long time. Thanks guys.

We left them to sit out their hangover on bank holiday Monday and drove to waitomo caves. The drive was a quick and easy one meaning we got there alot earlier than planned. This gave us time to have a tour of the glow worm cave there that day. It took about an hour and was pretty amazing. Walking through massive underground caves with stalactites and mites still slowly forming was an great sight to behold. The tour finished with a short boat ride in darkness through the last section of the cave to see the thousands of glow worms all around us lighting our way through. On getting back to the spaceship we found that I had left the keys in the drivers side door the entire time! Oops.

Apart from the caves there's not much to do here so we left the next morning. On our way to rotorua we stopped off in Hamilton gardens for a picnic. The gardens were beautiful. Different sections were designed to match different countries and we stopped to eat in the Italian garden. The sun helped as well. It only took a few hours before we were in roto-Vegas...which stunk...of rotten eggs an blocked drains. This, we are told, is due to the sulphur coming out of all the naturally occurring thermal pools, bubbling mud pools and geysers. Whatever the reason, it was gross and we were keen not to stay too long. After a very eggy nights sleep we went for a tour around the thermal village. This, although still very smelly, was really enjoyable we saw how the Maoris still live in this area and how they have combined modern living while still keeping their traditions alive. We were treated to a show by the tribe which included the haka and some pretty special tricks with poy. Although all I could think about was Dec playing with his glow in the dark poy! They also managed to time the end of their show to almost coincide with the erupting geysers, which were a pretty amazing spectacle. Not wanting to hang around this town too long we grabbed some lunch and headed to our current location, hot water beach.

I took a little break while writing this blog to go to the hot water beach itself. You get 2 hours either side of low tide in which to enjoy the hot springs that surround the beach. But it's not just like sitting in a pool, you have to work for your enjoyment first. Using the shovel we got from our campsite, we dug a big hole and sat in it! All you needed to ensure was that you had made a small channel connecting your hole to one of the hot springs that were flowing down the sand. Next thing you know you are sitting on a beach in a hot bath, relaxing. It's been a very sunny day and I think we may even have managed a bit of tanning/burning. Good times. Quins have it all in the bag.