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 of to Whakarewarewa village (can you pronounce it??) to get our personalised Maori tattoos designed - still haven't decided if we'll get them done or keep them as a souvenir! We sat down with Jason the tattoo designer (who was actually a pretty great artist as well) and told him about our personalities/families etc so he could personalise a design for each of us. He took our details and promised that he would work on them and email us a copy as well as send a hard copy through in the post……I hope we haven't just been conned again!!

Back on the bus and we were told we were off to kerosene creek for a swim…….."excuse me what Kerry - it's 2 degrees outside" - no bother he said you'll enjoy it! We arrived at kerosene creek not sure what to expect and a bit apprehensive of slipping into the bathing suits with snow on the ground!! We walked round to a large pool with a small waterfall and on Kerry's instructions dipped our hands in to feel the water it was like a hot tub! The volcanic/geothermal activity heats the water up to boiling in some parts….not here mind! We were straight in for a dip and it was class. We got a few good snaps - not many places in the world were we'd be swimming in a river in the winter! The only problem was even the water smelt like rotten eggs which meant we smelt like rotten eggs for the rest of the day…..although to be fair we had smelt worse at points of this trip!!

We stopped briefly at Huka Falls (another waterfall) and saw the place where the Queen stays when she visits NZ - just a bit out of our price range tho….maybe see you next time Liz! Our stop for the night was Taupo - a pretty sleepy town but it had 2 activities we were keen to have a go at! First a $10,000 hole in one challenge on lake Taupo which had a pontoon out in the lake with 3 holes in it-the backdrop of Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Tongaririo was pretty spectacular! The plan was simple - get a hole in one….get $10,000 however my golf capabilities deserted me when I needed them most and despite hitting the pontoon a couple of times we headed on our way none the richer!! Afterwards we met Kerry and were off to the Taupo Swing - a large bungy swing which we decided to do instead of a bungy jump! We paid our money and got strapped into our harness and dangled out over the gorge a couple of hundred feet above the river…….was this really any easier than a bungy jump??!! The girl operating the harness tricked us (sneaky b****) and when we looked towards the camera as instructed she pulled the pin and released us totally unexpectedly……aaaaggggghhhhhhhhhhh!! It was amazing (once over the initial shock of the drop) but over in no time - it honestly is hard to remember what it's like even after a few minutes…weird!! A good thing to do though and another activity crossed off the list……we'll show you the DVD when we're back so you can laugh at the screams!

The next day we arrived at Whakahoro and our accommodation for the night - the Blue Duck Lodge. This place was amazing! It is the most isolated place on the North Island taking about 4/5 hours to get to including a windy dirt road for the last 30 miles - think there was a few on the bus close to boking by the time we arrived! We had a brief presentation from the owners of the lodge about what we could do here for the afternoon and after a quick snack we were off! I decided the clay pigeon shooting was for me as did many of the others…..it was a laugh - check out the photos. We had a crack at axe throwing and took a walk down to the river before our dinner - it really was a special place…..so quiet and peaceful - apart from the shotgun being fired every so often of course! After dinner we headed back up to the cabins lit a couple of fires in the barrels outside and had a few drinks to round of the night- it was excellent craic. I could have easily spent a lot longer here and explored more of the massive estate but we have a lot more of this island to see yet and we're running out of time quickly so we've gotta get moving. Next stop National Park.

Craig and Laura =)