We spent the morning organising our next few days using the campsite wifi which wasn't really the best. After breakfast, we drove 5 minutes to visit Huka Falls. This 9 foot waterfall of water from Lake Taupo was interesting but I'm glad we didn't pay to see it.

Later that morning, we decided to use the library and organise ourselves a bit better. The weather forecast for the next two days was very good with lots of sunshine throughout the day, but after that, from Thursday onwards it was suppose to rain. We had planned to do the Tongaririo Alpine Crossing- an 8 hour hike across Tongaririo mountain on Thursday but we decided to move a few things around as that would be better with good weather. We were doing a white water rafting session on Wednesday so I emailed the company to try to switch the days. They were very helpful and sorted us out straight away.

We spent a good hour or so in the library before heading out into Taupo town for a wonder round. For the first time since travelling, Matt and I decided to split up so we could do our own bit of shopping! We probably shouldn't separate in future as we ended up spending a fortune between us. Matthew saw a Volcom hoodie he loved way back in Lake Wanaka in one of the surf shops, he didn't buy it and regretted it. Since then, every town we've been too we have scanned every single surf shop for this bloody hoodie! Well... Taupo possessed this hoodie so Matthew was over the moon, and so was I! We bought a couple of CDs for our long drives in the Campervan and some very serious camping flasks... I mean top of the range for us expert campers! We finished our spree off with a cheap pie in a bakery, which it tasted good nonetheless!

Matt was keen to find these famous tribal carvings in the rocks around Mine Bay. We drove over and walked down through the woods to the closet point we could close to the rocks. Unfortunately, you can't get to them by foot, only by kayak or boat. Matt was keen to swim around but I was having none of it. He didn't know where or how far away it was, the water was very cold and choppy, and there were boats flying all over the place. If anything happened to him, I wouldn't even know! He agreed eventually to looking into prices of kayaks.

We found a little beach cove just along from the woods. The Kayaks were a whooping 50 dollars to rent for 4 hours which was crazy! I knew what that meant though, he wanted to swim it! We compromised and agreed on him using a swimming aid just incase!

As it was pretty cold and windy at this point, we decided to warm up on the beach with our hoodies and gas stove, and made a cup of tea with biscuits. We sat there for two hours and read our books. Mum bought me a kindle for my birthday and I'm loving it!

Before heading off to our free campsite for the night, we stopped at Pak N Save for some food for our next few days. We don't buy much at each shop as we don't have the storage space so it means regular visits. We also stocked up on gas canisters for the stove as we were running dangerously low- 6 dollars for 4 cans, not bad!

I cooked a mountain of chicken and pesto pasta with cheese whilst relaxing with our drinks. The Reid's farm was chockablock full with cars parked on every bit of grass area available by young 'hip' travellers. Unfortunately, it was staying here that gave myself and Matt the realisation that we are no longer young and cool! We like staying in quiet campsites with a clean bathroom, and great kitchen facilities, and we like to shower every other day but if possible everyday. We also find that we enjoy chatting to older people with lots of interesting stories. This doesn't seem to be a priority with some of the younger travellers who style themselves with the 'I haven't showered for a week' look, but they make it look cool! Also, we found ourselves wrapped up in our Campervan tutting and shaking our heads in disgust every time we heard a swear word thrown around. Oh dear! On walking to the toilets staring up at the sky in amazement of how bright the stars were, I nearly tripped over a man who appeared to be sleeping on a chair in the pathway with his head in his hands. The strong smell of weed passed me as I diverted him. We were in for an interesting night!