Most activities in Rotorua involved the many geysers/hot pools situated in the region. Rotorua alone produces 15% of New Zealand's power, just from geothermal energy. Just walking around the area you can find several bubbling mud pools. Unfortaneatly all of the hot gasses bubbling through the pools causes the area to smell like rotten eggs from all of the Sulphur. Our hostel pool was geothermally heated which made it pleasantly warm to swim in. Both Rotorua and ...

Our next 2 stops on the Kiwi tour were Hot Water Beach and Waitomo. On the way to Hot Water, we stopped at Cathedral Cove, where 'The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian' was filmed and the spectacular beaches there. The whole area of the coast had great beaches carved out of the roack by the sea and the huge waves that were coming in from the Pacific. After Cathedral Cove we drove to Hot Water Beach where a lava flow underneath the beach created really hot poc...

Our first stop in New Zealand was Auckland. We arrived at the beginning of a cyclone that was headed over the North island so we were met by colder grey skies than we'd been used to in Australia! My initial impressions of New Zealand from the plane window and from the taxi ride into Auckland was that it already hadstunning mountainous scenery and a stunning coastline. I had heard all about how the south island was amazing but iI hadn't realised the north island ...

The Bay of Islands was our first stop on the 'Kiwi Tour' the backpacker bus tour we had booked in England to travel the country. The tour stops at all the notable locations enroute to your destination and also offers several discounts on a whole range of activities. On the way to the Bay we drove through the North Island countryside with plenty of cattle, not sheep to my surprise on the fields. In the Bay I decided to do a swim with Dolphins tour and a Skydive! ...

Australia's largest city and home to one of the most iconic sights in Australia-the Sydney Opera House, was also the city we stayed in the longest but we never ran out of things to do. From walking the length of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to climbing the Sydney Tower Eye we were met by stunning views of the giant harbour and surrounding sights. The botanical gardens, circular quay and darling harbour were very interesting places to visit in their own right, both ...