Today we are leaving Aukland and heading home to the UK..... our flight however is at a most antisocial hour!! On Sunday we went to Rangi To To and got sunburnt on the ferry....... which wasn't surprising...... we took a tracktor up to the top of the volcano which had a huge crator and an incredible view.....!! The rock was also amazing very volcanic...... there was also a beautiful little beach......!! That evening we went up the Sky Tower to take Sally and Joh...

On Thursday we set off for our road trip..!! First stop was Waitomo, where we stayed in a hobbit motel... and saw a crazy kiwi show which involved everything from sawing wood to dancing pigs and sheep shearing..! We then went to see the famous glowworm caves in Waitomo which consisted of a short walk and then a trip on a boat.. The boat trip was incredible, and we saw over 10,000 glowworms. From there we went up a very windy road in order to see a waterfall. We w...

On Monday we wen't whale and dolphin watching...... it was a really nice day..... it was a long time before we saw anything but then our guide spotted some circling birds which ment that there were suddenly 200 dolphins around us..... it was amazing and they were all chasing the boat from underneath us! After that we didn't think we sould see anything else then suddenly someone spotted a blow from a whale and then 6 killer whales (orkas) were seen and they were h...

On Saturday, we went to Kelly Tarltons Underwater World.. and saw penguins and sting rays etc etc...was a really sunny day and so did some sunbathing afterwards. had a pretty lazy day though. Then on Sunday we went to the Auckland Museum and watched a Maori Cultural show, which was really interesting and lived through a volcanic eruption!! Then in the afternoon we went to see We Will Rock You which was incredible.. with a highly excitable New Zealand Audience!! E...

today fran has just got out of hospital after her appendectomy...!! she went in on monday after we just thought it was a sick bug and turned out it was slightly worse... but penny is here now and we are now staying in a nice hotel and enjoying a nice holiday rather than a backpacking experience.. we have decided the backpacking side of things will restart with thailand it january... with maybe fiji and some tropical islands after...!! although it hasnt exactly go...