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 kite as we walked into the gazebo which they called their reception area! The main guy (I only say this because he was shouting things like, "Brooooo, weeeeelllcome duuuude!", louder than the rest of them) asked us to sign a liability waiver to say that if anything happened to us, it wasn't their fault. In true British style, I didn't want to be rude, so we signed!

They kitted us up in old, ripped wetsuits (fab) and put us into groups. We were lucky enough to be partnered with the loveliest couple, weirdly from Cardiff, Anthea and Victor. They were both full of energy and we were all bouncing off each other with a mixture of nerves and excitement. We also had little Vinny in our group, a guy from india who was travelling alone and couldn't swim...this could be interesting!

The rafting was so much fun, I couldn't stop smiling and laughing the whole way through. The 7 meter waterfall was amazing to raft over and we all miraculously managed to stay in the boat, even little Vinny -Thank God! Our guide 'G-Ball' was amazing and clearly had sobered up a bit by the time we hit the water. At one point, he picked me to 'ride the bull', I had to sit on the very edge of the front of the raft while we went over some rapids. I think the aim was to hold on for dear life and ride the rapids but obviously I failed miserably, bouncing all over the shop with my arse up in the air!

After rafting, we looked through the photos, which were hilarious, and decided to head onto our next destination, Wai-o-Tapu Thermal wonderland. I'd seen pictures of this place so was keen to have a look but Matt wasn't so keen. As we were driving through Rotoura which absolutely stinks of Sulphur, or rotting eggs to most people, Matt said the smell made him feel physically sick and I knew this wonderland was only going to be worse. Wai-O-Tapu is famous for its dozens of craters which were created by the ground collapsing in on itself. They ranged from 5-50 meters wide, and some 20 meters deep. The craters werebinteresting because they have different geothermal activity including steam fumeroles, sulphur vents and bubbling pools. The temperature of the water could reach 80-100 degrees Celsius and they were all different in colour depending on the oxides, for example: Sulphur gave a yellow colour and iron oxide gave a red colour.

The smell we experienced whilst walking around was just unbearable. Matt was almost heaving and was now in the most hideous mood, much to my entertainment! Some of the sights were just awful too. There was only one crater I was bothered about seeing, and that was the Champagne Pool. The crater is what the area is famous for so I took my picture and we were on our way!

Matt wanted to get as far away from Rotoura as possible after that encounter so we decided to drive onto Waitomo as we were visiting the caves in the morning famous for the hundreds of glow worms. We found the most adorable campsite called 'Waitomo Farmstay' which was 35 dollars for a powered site. The camping grounds were small and intimate, surrounded by several different types of farm animals. It had the cutest rustic facilities we've experienced yet with old farm parts hanging from the kitchen walls. I cooked myself and Matt a dinner of bolognese and cheesy mashed potato, washed down nicely with yet more cider. We managed to make the most of the wifi, although it was tricky at times and then called it a night.