After Hobbiton we headed to Tauranga as one of Mum's friends now lives here. Jane and her family moved nearly 8 years ago so they hadn't seen each other for a long time! I'd never met Jane but she was lovely. Once we got therefrom Hobbiton we all had a late lunch at her home. Her house was gorgeous and had some spectacular views over the rolling hills, a pool and jacuzzi too, it was a dream home. Think it pretty icy swayed my own Mum on the emigrating front! Afte...

Hobbiton was so cool! And so pretty! We set off early from Waitomo to avoid the crowds but even by the time we got there, there was already a lot of people. Mainly from the big tour buses. It was a bit of a shame as it did kind of ruin the image but that can't be helped. Our tour guide Belinda was very energetic which was good and gave some details into the filming and how Hobbiton was created etc. But mostly the best bit was wandering around and feeling like you...

We drove down to Waitomo in the morning which took a couple of hours or so from Auckland. Once we'd checked in to our next B&B we asked the owner about how's best to go about exploring the caves. So half an hour later we were booked on to a tour by Spellbound who took you to the glow worm caves. We had a windy drive up the hill side to get to them and then a short walk to the entrance of the first cave. We had helmets with torches on as it was pitch black. On...

Auckland was a very chilled out couple of days for us. We had to drive back down from the Bay of Islands so didn't arrive until lunch. We parked in the city centre, which was of course a nightmare, and found a small cafe for some food. After that we spent the afternoon wandering around the city and shopping. As a city, and especially after the likes of Sydney and Melbourne, I wasn't overly impressed. It was a bit dull and there wasn't masses to do... It just seem...

After arriving at Auckland airport we had a long drive up to Paihia where we were staying for a few days. It took roughly three and a half hours but there was some gorgeous scenery along the drive. I was shocked at how green New Zealand was compared to Australia! Once we arrived I freshened up before going to see Josh, one of my friends at home who has been away for almost a year. It was so surreal seeing someone in a place completely out of context! We were supp...