So, me and Liz had booked onto the East as tour which is part of kiwi experience - we was meant to meet the bus at 7.20 and leave 7.30 outside our hostel - not sure why (after last time) but we left Rich to set the alarm, at 7.13 Dave woke me up to say the alarm hadn't gone off and we needed to get up - NOW! Me and Liz rushed to get ready as Dave and Rich ran down to the van to ask them to wait, me and Liz was both still asleep when we got into the van! We stopped to have a change of drivers and it was a 70 plus year old guy called Rex - he was lovely and turns our he's an ex rally river (we was soon to find this out!) It was a long drive but mostly due to the stops along they way, the first was a famous tree - you have to give it a gift (e.g flower, or some people had put money in!?) and give the tree a hug while making a wish??? I wasn't too keen on doing this but we did and I have a silly pic to prove it. Rex, our driver then said we had to sing a song for the Maori we was going to the next day and therefore needed to learn and practice it, i'm not the best singer anyway so trying to sing something in Maori wasn't the easiest! After that we made our way to our first stop on the tour, we'd booked ourselves onto do wild stingray feeding and a shark dive - we dropped our bags off, chatted with the group and then made our way down and got kitted up in our sexy waders and large bamboo stick. They get you to stand in a line and put the sticks in front of you to make a fence so that the stingrays cant get through, being wild they can use their stingers and we could be the next Steve Irwin (the same stingrays do come down to be fed) we wasn't there long before the first ones started to show up and one by one went forward to feed them, we was given large lumps of barracuda and your meant to feed it like a horse e.g. keep your hands wide and place them on the sea bed as the sting ray will swim over (as their mouth is underneath) and in hoover-like motions suck the food up. When it came to my turn the largest one came over - 200kg!!! so at first I dropped the fish but was given another go and this time managed not to let go - they are really gentle and apparently like it when you rub their lip? Not sure how many there was but quite a few, along with some kingfish who kept stealing the bait - after about an hour we made our way back. All the group had booked on for the dinner which was amazing, we had steak, fish, mussels and massive crayfish (which I thought was lobsters!) after dinner they had a guy come down to put on wine tasting but Liz didn't want a hangover and I don't like wine so we went back up to the house and watched Whale Rider which is a film set where we was meant to go on the tour. The shark diving was due for the next day but because of the weather it got called off, I was told it would have been a let down for me after Africa so no big loss and did save me $250 dollars.

The next day we made our way to our next stop, on route we was meant to stop at the scene of Whale rider (the film we had watched before) but for some reason wasn't able to? and was told we also wasn't able to go to the Maori we was meant to but would go to a smaller one (still meant we had to sing our song tho!!) On route we stopped at the longest pier and even though it was freezing and very windy we walked to the very end and took the obligatory pictures! We then arrived at the Maori and sang our song, Liz filmed it and somehow managed to get it closer to my mouth then hers so all you can here is me!! After the Maori we headed to our second stop and had booked onto do bone carving? Maori people (and alot of tourists wear these necklaces) we chose our design and made our way to carve it out - it wasn't until I got in front of all the machines I remembered my little accident at school when I nearly chopped my thumb off! We managed it tho, they give you cow bone and we sanded down at first with the machines to the guide then drilled the holes - after sanding it down again by hand we got it put onto a string and made into a necklace. I was just going to keep mine as a keepsake but Liz said she was giving hers to Rich so thought I best do the same (tho I knew Dave wouldn't want to wear it, its the thought that counts!! ;-) After bone carving I think the idea was to all sit around the fire and toast the marshmallows we had bought but it was so cold and windy me and Liz watched Swat (I do love Collin Farrell!) and ate the marshmallows anyway!

We was now at the most easterly point of New Zealand and therefore the first place to see the sun so the next morning we got up early and walked to the top of the hill to watch the sunrise (have seen my fair share of sunrises since been away but while here thought I best see the first in the world!) Unfortunately it was a little cloudy and I think we was a little too late but we made the effort all the same. Today was our last full day on the tour and we was meant to head to a small family owned hostel which is renowned for its Hot Tub right down by the beach so you can have an amazing sunset, unfortunately the hot tub was being cleaned :-( so no hot tub for us, it still was beautiful though and we all sat down and chatted for the sunset then had dinner which was again good (i've learned that most of the time dinner is offered to you on these tours to take it as they are usually really good!) After dinner we again watched another film (I do love a film) but this time they had a projector so we watched it on a massive screen! After that we all went to bed but it was one massive room which had 15 beds so therefore all of us in - us girls chatted and majority had fallen asleep so we turned the light off and some one had a bright idea about telling ghost stories (did I mention i'm scared of the dark!) we had been in the room about an hour and a half and all of a sudden one of the doors at the back of the room opened, me and Liz thought it was one of the guys in our tour and we just hadn't noticed he'd been in there so we said 'who's that' and 'how long you been in there', turns out this wasn't anyone in the tour and they just walked straight thought the room towards the door, not being answered and this random person walking thought the room freaked us all out once we'd realised she wasn't with us, especially after the ghost stories!! When she got to the door thought she didn't go out but turned round and started walking towards me, Liz and the other girls just sank under their duvet leaving me to get it - the women then turned and went out the door right by my bed (I always pick the crap bed!!!) we all the fell about laughing but after a while sorted ourselves out and in went quite for a bit before a pillow went flying into my face making me scream - Liz thought it funny to chuck a pillow at me and scare me even more!!!

The next morning we thought we had a lay in but the driver and hostel had other ideas so was up early and on the road back to Taupo. We made it Taupo in the afternoon and got ready for our next stop the following day. We gave the boys their necklaces and as expected Dave wasnt too keen but as Rich is wearing his I think he feels he has too and as currently still wearing it (wont be long before it gets broken me thinks!)

Next stop River Valley.