Hi all

Sorry for the delay in writing another blog since the start of NZ, we've only just got chance to sit at a computer for an hour!

Its been manic since we picked up the stray bus from our hostel in Auckland - can't believe how much we've done in just a week!

On our next day in Auckland we took a bus to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic world which was cool - we saw Turtles & Sting Rays being fed - never seen sting rays flap out of the water before so that was pretty cool! We got to see lots of penguins in a fake snow section & sharks etc in the viewing tube - which even had an travelator so we didn't need to walk!

Same day we took a ferry to Devenport, which took about half an hour & walked to the top of mount Victoria & checked out Cheltenham beach which was nice apart from a bit of light rain!

We spent our final day in Auckland walking up mount Eden, which is a volcano with a huge crater at the top of it - perfectly shaped & pretty impressive.

The Stray bus picked us up early the following day & we met the Stray crew & Karlin our driver who was a legend!

1st stop was Hahei beach, with a walk to Cathedral Cove which was gorgeous. Walked back in time for the group bbq, which was cooked by Karlin & everyone got loads of grub - lovely! We were woken at 1am the following morning to dig hot pools at Hahei beach - which was fun in almost complete darkness! The water was too hot in places & we dug a deep pool & lay in the "bath" under the stars - sweet as!

Next day we set of for Raglan, which is a cool little surfing town - with the longest left hand break in the world - which for surfers is apparently very unique! We went to a nice waterfall, checked out the beach & ate "Sausage Stuff" again cooked by Karlin who appears to be a huge fan of sausages!

Maketu via the Waitomo Caves was the agenda for the following day, we took a "Spell bound" tour, which took us into 2 caves, the first was pitch black apart from millions of Gloworms. We got on a boat in the cave in the dark & saw even more gloworms! Then we checked out another cave which was better lit & got shown the cathedral, really deep shafts & loads of different rock formations. Then we set off for Maketu, for our Mauri culture evening. We met Uncle Boy - the chief of his Mauri tribe & they fed us a nice meal & then gave us a show. After which we had to participate! Which turned out to be very cool, the lads had to learn the Hakka & the girls learnt the Poi, they taught us really well & then we had to demonstrate it to the rest of the group, everyone had a go & a good laugh. We all slept together in their meeting house.

The next morning we set off early for Taupo via Rotorua, famous for its smell - due to geothermal activity - nice! Karlin drove us to a great spot so we could swim in a spa pool, which is heated by volcanic activity underground, it was like a bath! We checked out the bubbling mud which is amazing as it gets really hot & spouts out steam & bubbles surpisingly!

We continued on for Taupo, which is a lake that has formed in the crater of a large volcano which last erupted hundreds of years ago. We got some good photos & walked to Huka Falls - another waterfall - really fast one though which releases several football pitches of water every second allegedly! Gaz decided to do a bungee jump & it was the scariest thing he'd ever done but at least he lived to tell the tale - funny dvd when we get back! Had a great night out with the Stray crew that night, as it was the last time we would all be together.

We headed for the Whanganui National Park early next morning, it was a fairly chilled day as everyone was feeling the effects of the night before. We drove to a ski mountain & checked out the slopes, it is the largest ski field in the world apparently. We then took a long walk to another waterfall through the national park & got some great views of the mountains, one of which is better known as Mount Doom in Lord of the Rings.

Next morning we set of for Wellington via Taihape to do some gum boot throwing! Which is harder than it sounds! But a good laugh. When we arrived in Wellington we went to Te Papa which means Our Place, it's a cool modern museum with 6 floors, we spent a couple of hours checking out the exhibits, the best of which were the Mauri traditional boats & weaponary. After which we took a long walk to book our ferry for Monday morning which will take us to the South Island to Picton. We had a Mongolian bbq with the Stray guys which was really nice.

Next morning the rest of the Stray group carried on but we decided to do a Lord of the Rings tour for half a day, the tour guide knew loads about the films & took us to 12 sets from which the films were shot & he showed us pictures of the actual film & you could see where the set was - really interesting. We took a walk around the rest of Wellington & took a cable car to the top of the hill that overlooks the city. It has a botanical garden at the top - gorgeous views!

Just chilling out tonight as we have an early start to catch our ferry tomorrow morning, then we will begin our South island tour - can't wait!

We'll post again as soon as possible

Take care

Love Gaz & Hannah xxx