I left off flashpacking it in Taupo. Aswell as being the Sky Diving capital of NZ Taupo is also the closest large town to use as a base for embarking one one of the world's best 1 day hikes. The Tongariro Crossing is rated aas the worlds 4th best, and it did more than live up to expectations. We started at 8am and were greeted with whats called the Devils Staircase, a huge steep climb to limber up the legs for the forthcoming 18km of rocky, sandy, snowy terrain....

The next day in 1770 was absolute class. Instead of lounging around on a beach and generally recovering from the mayhem of a previous night, I decided to get active. I was up bright and early and headed off for a surf lesson. A bargain at only $16.50, probably the cheapest thing in the whole of Australia! Although tough at first, and a huge amount of time spent paddling in the wrong direction, I finally managed to get on a few very basic waves, sailing them back ...