I stopped in Hamilton to meet Christina who wanted to buy my car - and did. This was a major relief and a good result to something that had given me lots of sleepless nights! So now i have some money to arrive in Sydney with and Ollie has gone to a good home. Thank you Ollie for your companionship and reliability. I swear that car has a soul! Now i am in Auckland and have decided to just get to Syd asap as there's no point hanging around here. The NZ chapter ...

So i tootled off further north, stopping at Taupo to look at the Craters of the Moon - bubbly, steaming thermal craters - continuing on in the dark to stinky Rotorua (or RotoVegas as the locals called it for some reason) - the real thermal/volcanic heartland of NZ. It really does stink here - it's a combination of being trapped in the well of the Pump Room and a petrol station. It's decidely sulphurous but has a strange mineral/fossil fuel quality to it. I learn...

Hypocrite alert! I have said in the past that i cannot condone the captivity of marine mammals and would never pay to enter such a place. For today i changed my mind (temporarily)! 'Marineland' was right opposite my hostel so i couldn't resist at least a look. It is research facility primarily and the animals are very well looked after, their welfare and stimulation being the primary motivations. However which ever way you look at it, it's still wrong to ...

I am in Napier right now working my way back up to Auckland. What a stunning town! It was razed by an earthquake on Feb 3rd 1931 - New Zealand's largest natural disaster - and rebuilt in the Deco and Spanish Mission styles. AND there's a Dutch cafe that sells poffertjes, chocomel, croquettes and apple tart! Oh my word! x

So i drove like a maniac away from Wellington in tears and more hungover than i thought possible. It was very rainy and i was very poorly. I got a bit lost but finally managed to find Cameron's house where i had arranged to wwoof for a few days. He runs Timeless Horse Treks beneath the Tararua wind farm and has 20 horses including 5 Clydesdales. He really is a legend in my eyes. A cabinet maker by trade he taught himself to ride at 20, built a gypsy caravan, bou...