Hello Everyone!

Hope everything is ok back home....we are both missing you all. Since Adam did the last update it is now my turn and there is a fair bit to get through so here goes.

I think our last update was from Santiago in Chile which finished off the last of our South American Adventure. From there we flew over the Auckland, New Zealand and got a taxi from the airport to the hostel. I couldn't believe how posh the place was which Adam thought was hilarious. Apparently it was exactly like back home....I has obviously been in South America way too long!

Our first couple of days were spent in Auckland with a couple of friends we made in Chile. The weather was pretty good and there were loads of boats on the harbour. Apparently one in four Aucklander's have a boat....alright for some!

After Auckland we booked on our first kiwi experience bus and headed up to Pahia in the Bay of Islands where we went on a boat trip and saw loads of dolphins. We also attempted Sea Kayaking which proved to be pretty hard work because of the wind. It was fun though even if we did get totally drenched.

When arriving back in Auckland we got our first bus south bound where we met a big group of people who we ended up travelling the whole north island with. First stop was a little place called Hahei where they had this amazing hot water beach. Basically, you grab a spade and start digging to make your own little hot tub. I managed to burn the bottoms of my feet though because the water was boiling!

After a night in Whitianga (Mercury Bay) we headed to Rotorua. I think it is safe to say this place absolutely stinks! The earths crust is really thin here and they have bubbling mud pools everywhere which smell of sulphur. We all decided to go luging for the afternoon. For those of you who don't know what luging is you basically get on a little cart and fly down a hill. Steve, our driver, decided to organise a race (baring in mind racing isn't allowed on this track and there were a good 20 of us!). The girls all started at the front and the boys were at the back so you can imagine the chaos when we set off. One girl actually ended up being pushed off the track and fell down a 6 foot drop still attached to the luge!

Rotorua was also the place where we did the Maori experience. We all went up into this little Maori village where they did a really intimidating welcome which in the old days determined whether you were coming in peace or war. You have probably seen it before but if not they stick their tongues out and bulge their eyes and they all have massive tattoos on their faces. The worst part about it is that you are not allowed to laugh or smile because it is offensive. This proved to be quite a task! After we survived this they made the most amazing traditional Maori meal which is cooked on hot rocks under the ground, which after eating cheap backpacker food went down a treat.

The next day we left for Waitomo which is supposed to be the place where you do black water rafting. This is where you go down rapids in a cave on the inner tube of a tyre. Unfortunately though because of torrential rain the caves were flooded. Instead we made our way to Curly's pub where the boys all attempted the challenge of drinking every beer they had on tap in the hope of getting their names up on the wall and getting a free mug. Adam managed it although I think he maybe regretted it a bit the next morning.

After a pretty awful journey to Taupo we watched a few of our group do the bungy. WATCH being the main word here.....I was way too much of a wimp to do it myself. After a really good night out and some foosball competitions we decided to chill out the next day and head to the natural hot springs. Good hangover cure! The next day we had a brief stop at Tongariro national park but because of the weather we couldn't do the Tongariro crossing. Steve took us to some "Hot Pools" down the road instead though so we all got into our swimming gear ready for them. When we got there he told us the only way we could get in was to jump off this massive rock. We should have guessed it by now with his constant practical jokes but they were not hot at all. In fact the water was freezing and it was a really miserable, cold day. Good joke though.

We spent the night in a tiny place called River Valley which consisted of a hostel and a river and not much else. In fact, it was so remote the bus couldn't even get down the hill. The sleeping arrangements were pretty funny. All 23 of us ended up lying side by side in one dorm! The next day Adam did some white water rafting which he loved. I gave it a miss partly because of the money and party because I was scared of the grade five river. Final stop on our original bus was Wellington. We stayed an extra day here to see some more of the city which I totally wasted by getting far too drunk the night before.

The next day it was time to get the ferry across to the south island. We arrived in Nelson late afternoon and me and Adam decided to hire bikes the next day to see a bit more of the city. They took a bit of getting used to though - I can't even remember the last time I rode a bike.

After travelling down the west coast we reached a little place called Lake Mahinapua where the hostel was run by an old eccentric man who looked exactly like Bill Bailey - those of you from home will know who I mean! We all had to dress up with pretty limited resources. Me and one of the girls we were travelling with, Sonne, went as Ninja Turtles. We made the costume out of green bin bags which had a lime scent to them which meant we stunk of lime all night. Adam and Chris went a tin men and were incredibly uncomfortable and hot in their costumes. In fact, I think they only lasted about an hour....not even enough time for the group photo.

Franz joseph was next and we had all been looking forward to this for a while. This is the place where they have one of the world's fastest moving glaciers. After a good nights sleep we all set off on a full day hike of the glacier. It was such good fun going through little ice caves and squeezing through tiny crevasses. One girl the week before apparently fell over and got herself lodged and stuck in the crevasse. Luckily this didn't happen to me! By the end of the day we were all fairly knackered and ruined all the hard work we did by going for an Indian!

Wanaka was the next stop where we had a fairly relaxing day in an attempt to build ourselves up for Queenstown the next day. When we arrived in Queenstown we went for one of the famous "Ferg Burgers" which definitely are THE most amazing burgers in the world. Everyone has to come to Queenstown to try one. We met up with quite a few of the guys from our original bus as well which was good and yet again went for another night out. The next day we headed to Milford Sound which was like nothing I have ever seen before. I will put the pictures up now for you to have a look at. We saw some more Dolphins and also a rare type of Penguin which was really cute. Other highlights of Queenstown were drinking cocktails out of tea pots on world bar, mountain biking round the lake which was much harder work that I thought it was going to be as well as climbing up to the top of the gondola to do some more luging.

Yesterday we left Queenstown and headed to Christchurch where we fly out of tomorrow to Sydney, Australia. So, all in all we both have some good memories to take away with us from New Zealand from hiking up glaciers to meeting some amazing people some of whom we will hopefully see again in Oz.

Next update from Sydney where there will hopefully be some sun for the first time on our trip!

Lots of Love to everyone at home,

Lauren & Adam

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