Boo hiss!!! It's almost time to leave NZ, it has been soo much fun I just don't want to, but the next chapter of my adventure starts here!! Giving back Johnny was sad, but waving goodbye to Todders, hopefully my new found friend for life was harder. Luckily Shazza was back in Auckland to soften to blow! So Todders and I checked into a private room, as we had soo much stuff we needed to spread out and sort and also because at heart even after spending somethin...

Whangamata - a sleepy beachside town, and dejavu. We ponder how we are going to amuse ourselves until bedtime. I seem to remember the same conversation when we arrived in Kaikoura, and the nights don't end all that differently! The litle pub is holding a Texas Holdem comp, so we both take our seats at the table and let the fun commence. Having joked with the locals that we have been funding our trip around NZ by cleaning up in Pub Poker Tournaments, we both make...

On receiving a text fom Darryl (David and Vivien's son), we hotfoot it to Tauranga. At this point I feel the need to quote my mum. "Well, it's just off the main road, so it should be easy to find". Tauranga is the fourth biggest place in NZ and we quickly realise that our one page map, with the North Island on one side and the South on the other, which has done us proud up till now, just wasn't going to cut it. So we stop at a garage to ask directions. As luck wo...

Funnily enough, an hour down the road, the weather is just as rubbish, so we head to the i-site once again, and ask how to amuse ourselves in the rain. Well prepared, they have a whole printed list, and the lady that talks to us is very friendly. We head to Te Puia, dropping Brent off at the campsite to amuse himself for a few hours. Highlights: saw our first kiwi (the bird - obviously). It was bigger than we expected, but actually still quite cute with it's lit...

The journey to Taupo was taken upon the aptly name Thermal Explorer Highway, which everyone had described to us as a very bad windy road. You North Islanders need to toughen up. It was nothing in comparison to some of the routes we took on the South Island. An hour after our arrival in Taupo, we were dangling above the river, beneath a platform, held on by a bit of elastic. Something I swore I would never do. Sorry Mum, it just kind of happened! Todders describe...