We set off early (7:40am) by Magic bus on Tuesday 31st August heading South for Taupo. It took 2.5 hours to reach the first stop, Waitomo, known for its famous caves. Waitomo when translated from Maori means water in holes and was discovered over 100 years ago by an European explorer with a local Maori chief. The Waitomo cave houses the famous glowworm grotto. These little insects hang from the ceiling of the cave with lines suspended from their bodies (similar to spiders webs). As they glow they attract other smaller insects which die when they come into contact with the poisoned glowworm fishing lines. This is how the millions of glowworms in the cave eat.

At the caves we got kitted out in a lovely wet suit, white wellies and a helmet with a torch attached! We proceeded to walk across the hills to a steep set of steps to gain entry to the cave. We each collected a tyre inner tube and walked into the dark wet and muddy cave being careful not to slip. We were in a group of 14 with 2 tour guides looking after us. During the tour we had to be careful of the stalatites as at times they were hanging low so meant we had to duck. We were told to turn off our torches for most of the trek which ended up a little scary as we were in cold water with no lights. Air temperature was about 9 degrees and as we spoke we could see our breath. We stood in the dark to look at the many glowworms above us which were amazing. It was like looking at stars in the sky. We then found ourselves walking through 4ft of water, which soon rose to a level where we couldn't touch the bottom so we started floating until we reached a small waterfall. Lisa was concerned as she doesn't like her head under water so she let Mark take the plunge first! This consisted of standing backwards and squatting with the tube on your bottom. You then had to jump (backwards) down the six foot drop into the dark water below. Lisa was able to walk partway down a ladder into the waterfall and then jump so Mark could catch her. As we continued in the water we were asked to put our bums on the inner tube with our legs floating beside the person in front where they would hold onto your feet. The guide pulled the first person along by their feet which then moved us all along like a chain where we were linked!

It was a pretty awesome float in the dark hitting the rocks on the sides and in water at a temperature of 6 degrees!! That said, it was really good fun. We then got to a waterslide where Lisa had to be brave as there was no way out of this one. Lisa was in her inner tube
and slid down into the darkness with no problems. A splash but no scream was heard. We continued floating until we got to shallow water where we were able to walk again. It wasn't long after this where we saw the sky. After a climb of about 100 steps we were back at ground level. After showers we grabbed a tomato soup each and we were off. NZ$99 each (about £45) money well spent.

Lisa's verdict - thoroughly enjoyed floating in an inner tube in a cave was one of my best experiences. Mark's verdict - the float was not as fast as expected and the 1.5km distance seemed to be covered quickly but it was still a really good experience.

Soon after Waitomo, we had a short lunch stop in a town called Te Kuiti. The town is home to the world's fastest sheep shearers! An individual sheep is sheared in under a minute. Many of the world record holders are from this small town. After being fed and watered
we were off.

The final stop before we got to Taupo, home of the Lake Taupo which is the largest in Australsia, was the Huka Falls. These are the country's most visited natural attraction. A few photos and we were off to Taupo.

As we approached we soon saw Lake Taupo. This was created following the worlds largest volcano eruption in the last 5,000 years. The lake is bigger than Singapore. Into the lake flows the Waikato River, its only water outlet, which is itself the longest river in New Zealand.

We arrived at our hostel which was very basic compared to previous hostels we stayed in. Our room had paper thin walls with just a bed and tv and was freezing cold. We had a room heater which would switch off every 30 mins. and in temperatures of 4 degrees at night believe me it was needed. We had no bathroom so had to venture outdoors.......nightly toilet visits proved to be few and far between.

It was evening when we arrived in Taupo so we thought we would go for a walk around town to grab some dinner by the waterfront and then chill out in our room (literally).

The following morning Mark went for a 30 minute run. This was because the prior day he went to the sky diving centre and was over the weight limit for a tandem dive (a bit embarrassing). When he returned to the airfield, the hard work, change to lighter footwear, and no dinner, breakfast, or lunch had paid dividends as he was 4kg lighter!! Without further ado, Mark was hopping into the jumpsuit, harness and was in the plane ready for the 15,000 feet skydive. Not too sure the doctor at Bangkok Hospital would have approved as Mark's leg has been out of the cast for a little over a week!! Anyway, Mark landed safely and now has the DVD, photos and t-shirt to prove it !!! Mark really enjoyed it
and is now looking forward to the 442 foot bungy in Queenstown (South Island of New Zealand).

After the jump, we headed into town for lunch, grabbed some provisions from Pak-n-Save and walked around town. With loaves of bread at NZ$4 each (£2), it is not immediately obvious where the "Save" part of the name is put into practice in the shop. Our plan was to get showered in the hostel and grab a drink. Instead we popped into the lounge room
just as a new DVD was starting so we stayed their for a couple of hours watching "Fallen" and chatting to a couple of lads from Ireland.

The next morning was overcast with a forecast of rain. So, instead of taking our planned boat trip across Lake Taupo and visiting New Zealand's largest wine shop/cellar, we decided to hop on an Intercity bus to Wellington instead of going with Magic as this time their timetable didn't work with our schedule. The trip took about 6 1/2 hours with a stop for lunch. We will give another update from Wellington.