We are currently in Rotura. It really stinks here as a volcano went off 160 years ago and there is still sulphur in the air. It smells of the worst kind of farts.We are staying in the worst hostel ever, normally they are quite nice but in this one they have stuck us in a converted stable. It still has a barn door so there is a huge gap at the bottom so the smell always stays in our room and the walls are paper thin! We are in with all the bums of the towns ins...

With a couple of weeks spare before we go to Oz, the plan for Paihia was to chill out on a beach for a bit, soak up some sun and try to save a bit of money. Paihia is a small town in the Bay of Islands which is notorious for hot weather and stunning beaches. As we're in Paihia for a little while, we've managed to secure a cheap deal on our accommodation. We're staying in a studio apartment hidden in a forest which has its own kitchen, bathroom, lounge etc. This m...

I did the paragliding and it was awesome! Not so great for adrenaline junkies as it was pretty peaceful but i loved it! there was one scary bit though where i had to run off the side of the mountain to get in the air - it just went against all my natural instincts to do that! Martyn was official photographer and you can see how he captured my fear! Rest of the time we sunbathed, luged, ate and was merry. Loved Queenstown.

After a couple of nights on the razzle we decided to take it easy in Taupo. A picturesque town with lots going on and a really nice vibe. We arrived in Taupo around 2pm and decided to take a stroll along the river to the Haka falls. Hake falls is basically a waterfall/rapids in the river which apparently attracts the most visitors to a natural site in New Zealand. We found this a little hard to believe as it wasn't anything special. The weatjher was lovely, as wa...

Having arrived in windy Wellington we did the proper 'backpacking' thing and walked for half an hour with our backspacks on to find our hostel - we've been used to door to door service! It didnt help that our hostel was at the top of a really steep street. A few of us from the coach met up in town and proceeded to take advantage of the $5 drinks at the bar... only problem was that the special was only on spirits. Oh well... a night of whiskey is always good to pu...