Christmas morning!! I woke an hour before Matt very excited and decided to put the TV Christmas music on... just to help him wake up a little. For the first time ever, I was away from my family all over the Christmas period and although I felt a little sad I wasn't with them to celebrate, it didn't really feel like Christmas so I think that helped a bit. Finally Matt arose from his bed to find me dancing around the living room in my nighty and Christmas hat. I ...

Christmas Eve!!! I was so excited although it felt absolutely nothing like Christmas! Only a few shops had a little bit of tinsel up or a small Christmas tree! None of the campsites did though, not even a bit of Christmas music! This was the first year I had to keep reminding myself it was Christmas tomorrow. Oh well, it would be a different and amazing experience all the same, it's nice to do it different one year. After breakfast and paying for our powerless s...

Our morning started with cheesy beans on toast for breakfast to set us up for the day ahead of us. My amazing mum had sent a second parcel full of Christmas presents which had arrived in New Zealand but had not been delivered successfully to our air BnB accommodation for Christmas. It was currently at the FedEx depot in Auckland so later that day we would need to pick it up. We booked our cave tour at Waitomo isite tourist office and we headed straight there. ...

I was super excited for our White Water Rafting session today! We were rafting on the Kaituna River at a Grade 5 level which is the highest I've been on yet! The rafting route includes the highest waterfall you can commercially raft in the world at 7 meters high! I couldn't wait! On arriving at the office of 'Rotorua Rafting' company, to say I was a little sceptical about our safety would be a fair comment. The tour guides that greeted us seemed as high as a kit...

A very bright and early start of 5.15. We were on the second shuttle bus at 6.10 out to the start of the Tongaririo Crossing early morning. It was a beautiful calm morning, you could tell it was going to be a stunning day! It was essential to take a waterproof coat, trousers, proper walking shoes and also 1.5 litres of water per person, without this you weren't allowed to get on the bus. On arriving at the start point 20 minutes later, the bus driver discussed ...