Early wake-up today to catch the bust at 8am! We drove through all sorts of little towns on the way to Wellington and stopped at Flat Hills Restaurant for lunch. (Don't ask me why they call it that...it is anything but flat!) We drove past Mt. Ruapehu but couldn't see it because the cloud was too low! It is apparently very beautiful - we could just see the base. The mountain to the right of that is the one used in the Lord of the Rings as Mt. Doon. We stopped a f...

Today was very chilled. Had a lazy morning with a cup of coffee andmy book and did my washing. The tumble dryer half dried my clothes and wasn't going to pay another $2 so i just hung them up all over my bed! Had an early lunch and then went into town to have a walk around - watched Ocean's 13 and the local cinema and then walked along the lake. There were some guys playing golf - the aim was to try and get the ball into the hole which was suspended out on the la...

Today has been pretty cool. Woke up at about 8:30am and had breakfast. Then grabbed my lonely planet guide book and headed out to do some exploring. Found a Starbucks (coincidence?? I think my body was leading me there...haha) and had a skinny capuccinno to escape the cold! Set out on the guide book walking tour which took me to Government Gardens, Lakefront, Ohinemutu Maouri Village and Kuirau Park (this is a free park that has so many hot springs you can't eve...

Had a bit of a lie in this morning as my body's alarm clock seems to be set to 12am! Went down to the musient after some warm oats porridge and had a look around. Went for a 5km hike along the Waitomo Walkway which included mud, mud and more MUD! My shoes are no longer clean! Spent the afternoon reading and chatting to an English girl in the sun - VERY relaxing! Caught the bus to Rotorua at 3pm and arrived at 5:30pm. Have room number 21 in this trendy bacpack...

Woke up, had some porridge for breakfast and a cup of tea, got my bags and headed down to the reception to wait for my Magic Bus. It arrived at 7:40am driven by an awesome guy called Scotty. It was so cool - he played such good music all the way! We stopped at Mt. Eden on the way out of Auckland so we could get a better view of the city. WAS VERY CHILLY! It took us about 2.5hours to get to Hamilton. On the way we saw this amazing cemetary on a hill which members ...