So hear goes… The last 2 blogs! And since it's been 3 months, it will be a lengthy one!

After sorting out a few loose ends in Melbourne, we hopped on our flight to Aukland, NZ to be greeted by Matt - Ade's old friend from Trek America. A very giggly couple of days including a pub quiz and bowling… 5 years and we just picked up from where we left off! It was lovely to see him, albeit a very quick trip before he took us to the airport where we met up with Holly's parents who just spent a couple of days in Singapore before coming out to NZ to holiday with us.

To the campervan rental place we went! Dear old Bertha!! Dad was clearly put out by the 'refurbed' interior (refurbished in the mid 90's we think!). However, Bertha the Four Bertha was home for 19 days and we actually found her quite cosy!

On our 1st full day together we decided to take a 2 hour gentle walk along the mountains in Coromendel (2 hours my ****!) Zigzagging across rivers/waterfalls, rock climbing and sheer drops - we were beginning to worry about how many hours of daylight were left! The sheer joy and relief was apparent throughout the family as we discovered the gravel road leading back to camp!! We couldn't help, however, taking pictures of Mum's soiled shorts in the rear end location… yes, she had fallen over during our hike and somehow twisted in the other direction as her legs were flying in the air backwards uphill - the sight of her deck shoes/ankle socks and sailor hat had us all in stitches, so the poor woman had no one to help her up!

Driving round the Coromendel was breathtaking - we stopped off at Cathedral Cove. Ade and Dad walked down to get some gorgeous photos whilst Mum and Holly parked themselves on a grassy roundabout with wine!! Next stop - Hot Water Beach - Hot spring water beneath the sand. The boys dug a hole for us all to sit in and a little channel for hot water to seep in. So surreal to see so many people doing the same. After this Holly had no trouble with her back again - magic!

We went to Tauranga where we climbed Mt. Manganui, with beautiful views over the Bay of Plenty. Dolphin spotting was the next activity on a clear sunny day, although it included snorkelling in the water with them, so we were anxious about the cold water! After a few hours of not seeing anything, many pods came along (we think they were spooked about something as they didn't want to play too much). This was not a disappointment in any way - seeing the dolphins so close up in their natural environment was superb and we loved every minute of it. We were able to go in the water and hold on to a bar while snorkelling as they weren't feeling that playful that day. Holly felt incredibly lucky to see 6 dolphins swim right beneath her and as we were about to head back to land, we saw a seal playing with the pods!!

Travelled next to Rotorua where we met the Mauris and smelt the sulphur - Ade even learnt the Huka on the stage!! Quick stop at Lake Taupo to see the Huka Falls = 200,000ltrs a second (fills 500 Olympic swimming pools a minute - impressive!). Managed to taste some delicious wines at Mission Estate and had a little bit to eat in their restaurant - 'little' being the operative word!! We all went for a starter as we were having a big dinner late. We opted for crispy pork belly and scallops - we ended with four enormous plates with tiniest dip in the middle - in this dip was the tiniest meal you have ever seen! Thank God for garlic bread!!

Set off for a long drive down to Wellington via Upper Hutt, where we were due to stay the night. Sweaty palms and a few held breaths as Ade drove our big rickety van around narrow, VERY steep roads (one way tracks). We discovered the horn didn't work so we just hoped no one was speeding round the blind bends. In the end the Upper Hutt site was awful and the welcome quite unfriendly so we needn't have driven that way anyway!"

When arriving in Wellington, we came across a campsite that was right in the centre of town - facing the harbour!! It was more car park than campsite, but still had what you needed - toilet, shower, electrics etc - and all this for $50NZD p/n - by far the cheapest site we stayed on!! With a great location, we left the camper and walked into the CDB. After looking around (shopping!) we all ventured up on the Wellington Cable Car and walked back down taking in all the views via the Botanical Gardens.

After a certain someone got their 'fix' watching an airshow over the harbour… we moved up the coast to Tongariro NP via Wanganui where we stopped for the night in a time that wasn't present day!! Everything from the dodgy 80's man at the reception to the campers that were on the site - it was all very Back to the Future… Bertha blended in just fine.

Finally we made it to Tongariro NP (apparently home to Mt. Doom - Lord of the Rings?!) before heading to back to Taupo - staying at Taupo De Bretts - which had some hot pools/springs located on site. We all obviously took advantage of this and whilst the girls treated themselves to a massage + facial, the boys ventured onto the river for a spot of kayaking - stopping halfway to have a soak in some hot springs.

Waitomo Caves - Black Water Rafting was one of the best experiences we had done. You are given full cave gear and taken 100's of metres underground where you walk/float down cave systems - taking in all the glow worms and rock formations. We even found ourselves falling backwards into the water and going down waterslides!! All in all a great day had by all!!

Near to the end of our trip around the North Island, we arrived back in Aukland and after visits to Devonport, Orewa and some 'last minute shopping' it was a sad goodbye to the Clarksons.