After a lazy and relaxed couple of days in National park, mainly due to bad weather we were on the move again. Kerrys bus was coming back through National Park and heading to Auckland so we jumped on to head north. Bus journey wasn't too bad and was long enough for us to catch a movie along the way, movie about Johnny Cash - not too bad. Got into Auckland about 16:30 and checked into the YHA ahead of an exciting day tomorrow. We're off to get a camper van and...

Up at 5:30 in the morning to head to National Park so some of the group could make the Tongariro Crossing in time. This is supposed to be one of the most scenic hikes in New Zealand however you need to start early to get back before dark! We had decided that it wasn't for us………….and as it turned out it didn't happen for anyone on our bus. There were quite a few that wanted to go however the weather closed in and not long after leaving Blue Duck we go...

The next main stop after Maketu was Whakahoro (WH is pronounced F in Maori - takes a while to get used to) but we had a couple of spots to see before we arrived there. We called into Rotorua (or Rotovegas as the locals called it) on our way to Taupo. Rotorua is an area of intense geothermal activity apparently which gives it the fantastic strong smell of rotten eggs because of the sulphur….it really does stink!! We breathed through our mouths and headed ...

Bit of a combination of blogs this time! We left Wellington on 01/08/11 and spent the entire day travelling – an express bus to Auckland. We checked into Nomads (we officially hate Nomads now by the way) and got to meet up with Jan one last time for a drink – was great seeing you again mate…until next time in Belfast, Hamburg or Prague haha!! We also got meeting our new bus driver, Kerry, who was having a few whiskeys in the bar – he seems like a prope...

Pretty much a travel day after leaving Rangitata. The group we had toured the South Island with was splitting today in Christchurch on the way through – the end of an era!! Jan, Bram and Victoria were all off to the airport to catch their flights and the rest of us were off to Kaikoura for the second time in a month! Not really much to tell you about our time there apart from Laura the barber shaving Eric’s head and coming third in the Adelphi Lodge Pub Qu...