We didn't do too much at Taupo due to time constraints. We got there early afternoon and had a late lunch before wandering the town and doing some general sight-seeing. I also got my hair cut which felt amazing! Human again after too many months of the bedraggled look... We took a walk along Lake Taupo and had some fantastic views of the volcanoes in the distance. One of which was 'Mt Doom' from Lord of the Rings, and no that's not its real name which I originall...

We really liked Rotorua. It wasn't a long drive from Jane's in the morning so we had nearly a full day. Our first stop was Te Puia which was a centre surrounded by geothermal pools, geysers and mud pools. They were also a school which focused on teaching the Maori traditions and culture to special individuals from around the country. We had a guided tour and got to see the world famous Pohutu geyser erupt - it has been known to reach 100ft! The only thing was the...

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...