Sorry for it being quite a long time since I last did a blog, it's been a busy few weeks! I'm in Sydney for the next few days so have uploaded all my pictures and updating the blog. I'll try cover all the main things I have done since my last one (about 4 weeks ago!)

The final night in Taupo was good fun. An Irish girl we had met was 25 so we all dressed as pirates and went for a night out, getting a few strange looks along the way! We also bumped into some familiar faces from the South Island so it ended up being a really good night. I left Tom and Steve again as they were staying in Taupo a few more nights. I had about a week left before Perth.

The following day I headed to Rotorua, staying at Treks backpackers (which I'd definitely recommend). On the way to the hostel we stopped at a few thermal spots including bubbling mud, which was very strange (and stank). In fact the whole town had a smell of rotten egg, due to the sulphur. In the evening I went to the Maori Night which was great. It was meant to be a Maori village but it had been set up for tourists, but it was still interesting. We toured the village, saw a concert (including the Maori guys doing the Haka) and had quite a feast. All in all a good night.

On Sunday 13th I did a blackwater rafting tour. The coach left at about 7am and we arrived in NZ's caving capital Waitomo a few hours later. I did an experience called "The Black Abyss". This involved quickly being trained how to abseil, then abseiling down a 35 metre hole into the cave! There were only 2 of us doing this so we got a bit more time in the cave. After abseiling we did a 'flying fox' (aka zip fly) even deeper into the cave. The instructor then had us jumping off an edge into the pretty cold water onto our black rubber rings! We then went through the cave for a couple of hours, seeing eels in the water and thousands of glow worms. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone in the north island. In the evening I went to the naturally heated spas for a dip. They overlooked Lake Rotorua and some were so hot you could only stay in them for a few minutes.

The next day I left Rotorua for an overnight stay in Auckland. I saw a few people and went out for some dinner that evening (Indian/Chinese food is really cheap - under NZ$8 for a meal). The drive was quite long so we only had a few hours. The following day we headed towards Paihia in the Bay of Islands. On the way we stopped off at a honey farm and did some tasting. I couldn't really tell the difference between strawberry honey and normal honey to be honest! After that there was a torrential downpour which had me worried, and when we arrived in Paihia the town's power was down. Within about an hour it was a clear blue sky, so I went on a walk down the coast and then went to the beach for a few hours. In the evening there was a BBQ and a quiz in the hostel bar. I met a couple of people from London and ended up having a fun night.

On Wednesday 16th the weather wasn't great. However I had already booked a boat trip to go around the Bay of Islands. The boat was pretty big and had cover. Luckily it didn't rain but it was overcast. The sea was pretty choppy because of the weather. The trip lasted about 4 hours and we stopped off at the largest island, OteheiBay. The water was incredibly clear and the people on the boat gave us a good history of all the islands (quite a lot of which was pretty violent!). In the evening just had a quiet night in the hostel.

The following day a coach load of us went to the North of NZ, Cape Reinga. The weather was fantastic for today. At the start of the journey we stopped at Puketi Kauri Forest to look at some of the huge trees that were there. Some were over 2000 years old. We then continued to Cape Reinga and saw the lighthouse at the top of the island. This is where the Tasman Sea meetings the Pacific Ocean so we had some great views. Afterwards we went to Te Paki stream where there are some of the country's biggest sand dunes. We did some sandboarding (getting up to 80km/hour and ending up in the stream at the bottom). We then stopped off at Tapotupotu Beach for a swim. The drive back down Ninety Mile Beach was incredible - the coach had access to go right up to the water so the views were spectacular. We then stopped off at Mangonui for some fish and chips. That evening we had some drinks on the beach, definitely one of the best days of the trip so far!

The following day was mainly just sorting things out before heading back down to Auckland. In Auckland I met up with Steve, Tom and Matt (for those who don't know I used to work with Matt before he left Deloitte for our rivals PWC!!) We had some food before having a look around Matt's office overlooking Auckland Harbour and heading back to Matt's house for a sleep. We met Matt and his wife Kate. The other 2 boys got the short straw and slept in the camper van outside - I had the luxury of my own room!

On the Saturday (April 19) we met Matt's daughter, Isla. She burst into tears as soon as she laid eyes on me - the effect I usually have on babies. We made friends by the end of the trip however, with me even holding her whilst Matt and Kate brought the washing in! In the morning we headed to the beach with the Hearley family and did some boogie boarding, which is everyone's new favourite sport. The waves were incredible and you didn't have to go far to catch a monster wave. After that and an impromptu footie match we headed for a walk with Deefer (the dog) close to Matt's house. In the evening we had a curry whilst I mesmerized everyone with my card tricks, and then lost quite a few times at a Danish card game.

On the Sunday I was feeling daring and decided to jump off Auckland Sky Tower! Tom and Steve left early. I then went into town with Matt, Kate and Isla and did the jump! It was a great, sunny day so the views were incredible. The drop itself was at about 8o kph and it wasn't quite as terrifying as a bungy, but still took me a few seconds to jump off! When I got to the bottom the company running it let me go again for free, because there was nobody booked after me!After this we walked around the harbor and the city, before I got dropped off at the airport. Thanks Matt and family!

I then boarded a plane and headed to Perth!