Hello everyone,

Sorry it's been so long between blogs. We've been on the North Island for a week now and have done so much it's going to be difficult ot squeeze it all into one blog!

For a start the ferry crossing was nothing like a channel crossing! Choppy doesn't quite do it justice and although neither if us have really been sea sick before we both felt awful by the time we arrived in Wellington. None of the old housewife tales worked, closing eyes, looking at the horizon; we tried them all and still felt sick. The weather and one way systems in Wellington didn't really make us feel much better either! It had been three weeks since we'd been anywhere you could call a city (Christchurch only just counts but we loved it because of it) and the traffic and buildings were a touch overwhelming. We went to the central Museum (Te Papa) which was really good but left the same day, mainly due to the lack of camp grounds. Windy Wellington certainly lived up to it's name and we'd both like to go back one day but it was all a bit too much!! (Bodes well for Auckland and LA doesn't it!)

We headed North up the Kapiti coast and had a lovely day collecting shells on a deserted beach followed by a walk in a deserted forest! We ended the day in Wangunui in a campsite that had to be seen to be believed! 1950's timewarp doesn't quite cover it! We were given the key to a caravan but decided we'd rather sleep in our van due to the state of the bed! And although the owner was lovely and friendly there did seem to be some dodgy characters about and we had been told we may see the odd 'deal' going down!! We think he might have been propping up his flagging business by hosting released prisoners in their first nigth ont! Needless to say we headed out the next morning fairly pronto and drove on to Egmont National Park in the far West of the island where we did a lovely (rather overgrown!) forest walk near Mt Taranaki with amazing views over the tops of clouds to the central island volcanoes including 'Mt Doom' from LOTR!

We then took the 'Forgotten World Highway' to the volcanoes and you could really tell how it earned it's name! Tiny hamlets of run down houses, we really could have been driving through 50 years ago! Beautiful scenery though although we have both agreed that the South Island definitely wins for spectacular scenery! We headed to the Tongariro National Park intending to challenge ourselves and do the famous Tongariro crossing but due to early snow it was guided only with ice-axes and crampons etc! Decided that would be a bit too much of a challenge and instead did a series of three short walks including one to Taranaki falls over volcanic rock etc and another around beautiful (and again deserted!) lake.

Phew this is a bit long, sorry! However we've also been to Taupo where we walked to see the very impressive Huka falls and Greg managed to get in a game of golf! Then on to Rotorua where we had a great day going around a Maori thermal village full of hot pools. bubbling mud and geysers, including gorgeous sweetcorn cooked in the hot mineral pool - delicious! This was followed by what was probably Greg's fave activity of the trip - a luge! Unfortunately no photos of him but needless to say he had a huge grin on his face at going too fast round all the corners - even when he came off into a flowerbed on the beginners course!!! The two nights around Taupo/Rotorua we also stayed in campsites that had free, geothermally heated hot pools - bliss until you had to get out into the freezing night air!

We've now come on to the bay of plenty (North-East) and are heading North to the Coromandel peninsula, hopefully for some cliff walks and scenic drives before getting to AUckland Thurs night/Fri morning where we have to drop off the van. We really have loved it so if anyone knows of a Toyota Hiace going cheap that we can convert, let us know! Will also be sad to leave New Zealand, it really has been everything we'd hoped and can't believe we only have about 8 weeks left of our trip! Still lots to look forward to though, including warming up a bit!

Loads of love to everyone, thinking of you all

S&G xxxxxxxxx

P.S To those eagle-eyed photo viewers out there, no we're not engaged (it would be some ring if that was it!), we're too busy thinking about other people's weddings to consider our own!