We are still alive and well and in New Zealand! Lack of internet access has prevented us from keeping our blog updated, but we will continue to update as and when we can. We are almost at the end of our two week stay in the North Island. We picked up our "Happy Camper" van on Friday (11th) and travelled north up the west coast to see the magnificent Kauri forests and then across to the east coast to the Bay of Islands. We experienced cloudy weather during this period which was a little disappointing. However, as we travelled south, we managed to hit the beach a few times and enjoy the sunshine. Considering this is the peak season there are remarkably few people on some of the beaches. We are also having no problem finding sites for the campervan and the sites have excellent amenities. On Tuesday (15th) we drove back through Auckland and continued to tour the east coast where we drove through miles of kiwi orchards (?) and of course managed to stop for the odd swim in the clear blue Pacific Ocean! On Wednesday (16th) we stayed in a DOC (Department of Conservation) site with mimimal facilities. The site was on Tarawera Lake and we tramped (kiwi for hiked) to the Tarawera Falls and had a dip at the swimming hole on the way back - its very hot here! The next night we stayed at the Blue Lake (next to the Green Lake) and visited a Maori Village, taking part in traditional festivities and eating a meal cooked in a hangi, which was very tasty. We left the beautiful Blue Lake to explore the hot spots of Rotorua - we've seen as many geysers, hot pools, lakes, falls and bubbling mud as we can stand!!! Lake Taupo is much more serene and beautiful - we spent a night on its shores. Today we have been exploring the Tongoriro National Park, following some of its beautiful trails. There's snow on Mount Ruapehu, which we can see from our site. Tomorrow we are going to tackle one of NZ's famous tramps - the Tongoriro Crossing - a 7 or 8 hour tramp to see the Red Crater and Emerald Lakes. Sorry but we are not able to download photos at this place. Will download some as soon as we can!