Howdy Partners! A lot to mention on this one, savour it!

When we wrote last we were on our way out of stinky Rotorua! Because of the sulphur...not that we didn't like it there!

En route to Taupo we stopped at the Lady Know Geyser for a guaranteed eruption! The tiny volcano-esque geyser spouts hot water high into the air for amazed onlookers every day at 10.15am for about half-an-hour. We stayed for five or ten minutes, but the boiling hot water is gushing ten metres into the air there's really not much else to stay for!

We were soon in Taupo, home of the largest lake in this country, nay, this continent! Also, rumour has it, there is fine skydiving...

Now, I have always wanted to do a parachute jump. However, now in a prime location for such an act, my aspirations seemed somwhat foolish! Katie was keen for me to get on with it...a little too keen almost!! Unfazed, we went to see when the next flinging-yourself-from-an-airborne-plane opportunity might be. Answer: "How about in an hour?"......"$%*#!!!"

So...with nearly an hour to kill before I was due at the airport for my falling-out-of-the-sky appointment what else is there to do besides play a spot of golf?! The closest thing Taupo Lake had to offer was a Hole-In-One challenge. For a few minutes then I occupied myself by knocking golf balls hundred yards or so onto an astroturf green in the lake, hoping to score an ace. Cooper looked on mesmerised by my golf swing...or so I thought!

We turned up at the Freefall aerodrome to sign up officially for this lunacy! It turned out that Katie hadn't been so entertained by my golf as I'd thought. Instead apparently pondering joining me in the skies! With very little persuasion we were soon both in jumpsuits and harnesses getting better acquainted with some guys with backpacks!

As we soared to 15,000 feet in a plane marginally larger than a transit van we were reminded of our 'exit procedure'...I was reminded of Finding Nemo! I had my 'jump buddy'. A kiwi named Grant...who was getting a little too familiar with me...he asked me to sit on his lap!

The two of us (four including our jump buddies) were the last to leave the plane, and before I was really sure what was going on, Cooper had disappeared! Her and the fella' on her back! I wouldn't stand for this...Grant obviously agreed and told me to put my legs out of the door. Then while I sat dangling my legs over the side, looking for Cooper, he pushed me out! the joke was on him though, as he was securely buckled to me and he left the plane too!

Freefall was exhilerating...after a few seconds of realisation you begin to take in the incredible views. Mountains, rivers, towns, one HUGE lake, forests, fields and of course loads of sheep! Then suddenly everything was calm...I was upright and falling much more slowly than before...oh yes! That's right, the parachute! I'd forgotten about that! Fortunately, Grant had not!

Returning to solid ground should have been a relief, but in reality it was all over a little too soon! We both wished we could've gone straight back up and done it again!

The following day we were considering how to keep up with our adrenalin fuelled activities of late...we opted for a leisurely walk by Huka Falls and later, a bike ride. To the untrained eye this may seem quite placid in comparison. The walk, fair enough, although Huka Falls is an incredible stretch of fast-flowing water. The bike ride though...well, bear in mind that New Zealand is like the Scottish Highlands on speed and that we hadn't exposed our rears to bike saddles since being in Goa and it made quite an intensive afternoon! We made it to the very picturesque Acacia Bay before heading back along the rather undulating route returning to Taupo.

Following a couple of days in Taupo we were ready for a change of pace, and we headed for wine country!

Napier is right on the coast, but far more interesting to us once there were the vineyards! We promptly got ourselves booked on to an afternoon tour for the very next day. This allowed us some time to spend in the National Aquarium! We do enjoy looking at fishes as you are well aware, and we thoroughly enjoyed Napier's aquarium.

That night our stomachs returned to Thailand. Cooper had spotted a thai restaurant and we enjoyed old favourites like Pad Thai and Singha Beer!

The following day we were picked up from our motel for our tour - neither of us would have to drive - and set off with tour-guide Gareth to winery number one: Mission, set up by priests. We tried a few wines which really set the tone for the following few hours and a couple of purchases later we returned to our accommodation with vastly more knowledge of wine and importantly three bottles!

Now with just three days to get to Christchurch to drop off our car and pick up a campervan, we moved on to Wellington, New Zealand's capital! We booked ourselves on to the inter-islander ferry to get us down to the south island.

With our day in Wellington we rode the cable car and visited the National Museum - Te Papa. After a few hours of education we headed off for an early night ahead of our early start to be on the 8.30 boat to Picton and the south island!

As you can probaly tell, we are enjoying New Zealand a LOT!! With that in mind, we are looking forward to our next couple of weeks in the South Island - so watch this space!!

Love to all...

Nick and Katie xx