I was looking forward to visiting the Tamaki Maori Village most of all, to experience the traditional customs of the Maori people. On the bus we selected our chief, James, and had 10 minutes to prepare a song, that we were going to sing to the Maori guides on arrival into their village. When we arrived, we received a private traditional welcome and then sang 'Stand by Me' which went well but we forgot the majority of things we had prepared on the bus! The Maori ...

Today was the day we were going to experience the real Middle-earth with a visit to the Hobbiton Movie Set, the setting for The Shire that featured in the Peter Jackson directed films, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The tour started with a drive through the picturesque 1,250-acre sheep farm with spectacular views across to the Kaimai Ranges. Our guide escorted us through the ten-acre site, recounting fascinating details of how the Hobbiton Movie Set was c...

On the way to Waitomo we stopped at Karangahake Gorge, which has been voted, one of the 101 must do's for Kiwi's. This meant to fulfil our Kiwi Experience it was a must! Not only is this one of the most stunning stretches of river in the country it is home to one of the busiest and most lucrative goldstrikes in the country. The Windows walkway had windows blasted through the gold mining tunnels that provided stunning views into the Waitewheta River. The walk took...

After a long 6-hour bus journey to get to Hot water beach I was looking forward to stretching my legs. A ten minute drive down the road was the start to the walking trail to Cathedral Cove, a secluded picturesque beach that made an appearance in the recent Narnia film. The walk took 45 minutes each way and was a little challenging in flip-flops but Bobbi and I made it and we were glad we made the effort. We had a paddle in the sea and took some photos but decided...

Bobbi, Sam and I had an early start to make sure we were ready to embark the bus at 7am. I was excited to meet fellow travellers that would hopefully join us for the majority of our New Zealand journey. The first stop was in Whangadai, which has 270km of coastline characterised by irregular rocky headlands, sheltered harbours, sandy bay and tidal mud flats it was the perfect location to stop and grab lunch and supplies for the Easter weekend. Bay of islands ...