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 climb was arduos enough, and the layer upon layer of clothing we were told to bring was quickly removed. You could not have asked for a more glorious day, the late morning sun allowing even a bit of sweat as we trudged toward the summit...but what a summit.

The 360 degree views allowed you to see as far as 180km to the northwest to another range of stunning peaks. The Tongariro crossing was also in fact the setting for a large amount of filming for Lord Of The Rings, and the mountain we climbed was none less than Mount Doom. To be honest that means absolutely nothing to me, but it was nice to know so that the next time a meet a LOTR bore, I can tell him ive climbed it, and quickly move away! We stopped for lunch at the top of the climb, giving us views back to the main mountain, then south over what looked like Mars rock, all red and scorched, then down westwardly towards the Emerald lakes. These we perhaps the best sight of all, a crystal clear turquoise green, perfectly still and untouchable as you cannot swim due to the sulpher levels given off by the volcanic material. As we slowly started our descent, we thought the end was only around the corner, however the "corner" turned out to be 11km and 3 hours away completely downhill, but hard work! The shower and food that night were definitely well deserved.

The next day we set off for River Valley, through the National park where we stopped for lunch and a 2 hour scenic walk. The lunch did happen, the walk did not. After the chaffing off an 18k-er the day before, a little 2 hour break wouldnt hurt anyone, plus how could the scenery top what I'd seen the day before?! In the late afternoon we arrived in River Valley Lodge, a small secluded hostel dominated by the gushing river (The Rangiteiki) running through its grounds. After a bit of a walk around I decided on a quiet night playing bargames such as climbing under the oak table without touching the ground and a bit of tennis ball keepy uppies! The next morning whilst a few headed out to do some White Water rafting, I headed up the road to a tiny (but very well kept) 9 hole pitch and putt course made by the owner of the lodge because the nearest course to him was 30 miles away! Noone else fancied it in the cold so it was just me, my 9 iron and about 200-300 spectators...SHEEP!!

Later that day we travelled on to Wellington the NZ capital city. Due to the scheduling of the buses, I was to have 3 nights in Wellington, which, on refelction may have been 1 too many. For a capital city, the population is only around half a million, very tiny, and it feels that way. During my standard first day exploratory walk, I covered pretty much the entire city within 3 hours. The walk past the unique looking parliament, The Beehive, and through the central and essentially nocturnal courtnay place were the highlights. Saturday night in Wellington was however awesome, and I met 3 lads who I in fact have been travelling with ever since! Sunday involved a lengthy visit to Te Papa, the national museum, and a sort of cross between the Natural History and Science museums back home, but with a flick of added Mauri culture, a really great musuem.

The next day initiated my South Island adventure with a 3 hour scenic ferry ride across to Picton through the Queen Charlotte Sound. Just like when you cross over flat ol' boring Cork and head in to Kerry, the mountains got higher, the water got more abundant and the general feeling of awe increased just slightly! From there we drove to Nelson, a starting point for our West Coast adventure. That night we all ate a beautiful roast beef dinner for a great price before having a beer tasting session and general get-to-know-you with the 80 odd people who i'd be travelling with over the next weeks.

The beauty of the overflow situation, was that unlike a single busload of people like on the north island trudging place to place and becoming a little stale- I now had 80 new faces, all ages and races, but weirdly thrown together on this Adult version of a young person's school trip. Brilliant.

The next day we left Nelson unfortunately not having time to truly explore the Abel Tazman national park, but moving on nonetheless. We stopped for lunch, a walk, and an ice cold dip into Lake Rotoiti (filled with eels which we actually saw when we got out!!). From there we travelled through Buller gordge, a truly scenic drive dominated by peaks, rivers and waterfalls at every turn. It seemed also pointless getting the camera out at these times, as you would literally just be even more amazed at the next bend, best just to enjoy.

The morning after, Mike, Andy, Tom (lads im with primarily) and I set off on our first bit of adrenalin together on a jetboat. The boat basically has no propellors, so can fly over anything 15cm deep or up. The drivers are pretty crazy, careering through rock gaps, flying at speeds up to 100km/h on top of the shallowest of waters, before spinning wildly in 360 and absolutely soaking everyone aboard! They get especially motivated to soak when few smart alecs from the back shout out and ask him when is he going to take his learner plates off?!!! Thats the way to generate some speed through the gordge- and ensure the peace and serentiy of the gordge the day before is well and truly destroyed by pure raw human made power!

You would think that spending between 4-6 hours a day on a bus might become a little irritating, but it just doesn't. Not one person ever asks for a film and few rarely fall asleep simply because the scenery is so breathtaking. I quite often found myself turning to the boys and just saying "is this for real??- this sh*t is awesome!!" The drive the next day was from Westport down to Greymouth, then on to Lake Mahanipua, along highway 6 encompassing terrain such as rainforest, snowcapped mountains, sandy beaches and tide swells, rugid rock formations and deserted goldfields. We stopped a few times along the coast, firstly for lunch and out to a viewpoint called the Pancake rocks (which do exactly what they say on the tin), then in Greymouth to pick out some fancy-dress goodies for that nights activities before moving on to Lake Mahanipua, or as the Kiwi Drivers affectionately call it- The Poo Pub!

The Poo Pub is a legendary stop on the west coast of New Zealand. It is owned, run and maintained by an 83 year old amn called Les, a complete Captain bird eye look alike, who stepped onto the bus and explained he wouldnt accept any "funny business or unfunny business for that matter" going on in his hotel! After a monumental feed of steak and venison stew (shot by Les), it was time to begin the craziest of nights in a fancy dress free for all. Now, I already had a golf glove, and a gree ralph laurne, and long socks, so after a quick charoty shop visit my outfit was complete, with one snag...it was like a visit to Boreville! (Jimmy Russell would know because he lives there). It wasnt until i was in the toy shop that I found inspiration through facepaint and as if on Stars In Their Eyes, 2 minutes later I was...in all his glory...Tiger Woods! I was accompanied that night by none other than The Mummy, The Joker from Batman, a WWF wrestler, 6 babies, a Pimp, 3 schoolgirls (who really shouldnt have been allowed in), 3 Cowboys, Bananas in Pyjamas and The Milky Bar Kid! We had a belter of a night, and it also really brought everyone on the 2 buses closer together which was great for the coming days.

Ive been writing for ages and cant do any more although Ive got loads more to write!!! I'll write soon

NZ RULES THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!