G'day all, greetings from Tauranga, North Island, NZ. We're actually in a little beach town called Papamoa, about 200kms south of Auckland. We have our van situated on a grass bank 50 yards from the shore of the Pacific Ocean, not bad eh. Parked with our boot facing the sea so when we wake up in the morning, what a lovely view!

Since our last update we finally, after a long week of waiting, we conquered the 18kms Tongariro Crossing. It was certainly worth waiting for. We got up very early and after porridge and coffee (trampers staple diet), made our way to the start of the track. Real crisp frosty day but blue sky and sunny, perfect for climbing up 1886m above sea level! Part of the Tongariro Crossing was used in the film Lord of the Rings (Mount Doom for you 'Rings' fans, it was wasted on us as neither of us have seen the film!). It was an easy start to get us warmed up, fairly flat over a few rocks, etc. After a couple of kms we hit our first challenge of the day, The Devils Staircase. We were warned before that this was a killer but we weren't phased, until we started climbing that is! It wasn't long before BBQs and stubbies started to take their toll. I interviewed James half way up on the video camera and his words were: "i'm f*****g knackered!" Says it all really! Glad to see all the other climbers were in the same boat and in fact we even managed to keep a few yards ahead of them. Once we reached the top of the deadly climb we had amazing views of Mount Ngauruhoe ( Mt Doom) summit, this is an active volcano which luckily enough was fast asleep that day. Could also see Mt Taranaki (the volcano we climbed a couple of weeks before). We were now at the South Crater, 1350m above sea level, it felt like being in the middle of the desert all of a sudden, dead flat, yellow sand and pumice stone everywhere. Another flat walk for a couple more kms, much needed after that first climb! Then started to climb again, this time heading towards the summit of Mt Tongariro (1886m). This used to be the highest mountain in North Island of NZ up until it erupted and blew its top off. The hollow left by the eruption is now called the red crater due to the colour of the rocks and the dust blown out and settled around it. James' highlight of the day came when we had to cross the edge of the crater in 100kms winds, it sounds fun but when you're metres away from the rim of an active volcano and can't see because of the dust and dirt kicking up, not to mention being blown over by howling winds, it was mad!!! Ended up crawling on hands and knees until we reached a big rock to take shelter behind! Got some great photos and James returned the favour by interviewing me whilst trying to stay upright in the wind! I'm sure he's lost the plot, thought he'd be more interested in keeping himself upright!! And then to clarify my feelings, there he is hanging over the edge trying to take a picture of the inside of the volcano! Good job he had plenty of weight to keep him grounded. We then slid down the other side, it was just like sandboarding without the board, until we reached the Emerald Lakes. And they certainly were! The three sulpher lakes are such bright turquoise in colour that they almost look artificial. No swimming in them though as they are so acidic, they'd give you an extreme exfoliation!! We settled around here for lunch, yes you guessed it, cheese sarnies, coffee and energy bars for our packed lunch on a warm rock, naturally heated by the volcano. Headed on to the blue lake via another steep descent into the Central crater, where we had great views of both Mt Ruapehu (highest in North island, NZ) and the topless Tongariro. Had a little climb up to the level of the lake, this time a really deep blue one, and much bigger. Still no swimming though! If it's not crocodiles or jellyfish it's acid! The descent had great views of Lake Taupo and the East Coast of the North Island but was less amazing than what we had already seen. Stopped at a hut about 3kms from the end of the track for more coffee and energy bars before making our way to the end. For 2 inexperienced walkers, we were pretty proud of ourselves to complete it in around 6hrs, certainly put a few trampers to shame! All in all it was an awesome experience, one of the best things we've done in NZ, so glad we waited it out. Got back to campsite and headed straight for the shower while James went for a spa (belly button ruled that out for me unfortunately!) and to prove once again that he's going mad, he decided to swim 26 lengths of the pool. Wasn't that enough exercise for one day?!

After a well-deserved day of rest in Taupo we left for Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty. Stopped for a slight detour on our way out of Rotorua for James to become a Zorbonaut. This is where you get inside a 12ft ball along with a couple of bucketfulls of water and get pushed down a hill like a giant hamster! James opted for the zig-zag track. He loved it, thought it was like being in a huge washing machine, he'd certainly lost all his co-ordination when he slid out! But at least he managed to get out, i was a little concerned that the size of the hole would be a challenge! Think it helped that he was wet! Lauren didn't fancy it, was being a wuss that day!

After a couple of nights in and around Tauranga we decided to head into Auckland for the weekend, especially as it was Queens Birthday long weekend. Yes they get a bank holiday for the old queenie, something else that needs to be addressed back home! Ended up going into SkyCity (the big tower on the picture), it's a huge hotel and entertainment complex with two casinos. This is where all the little oriental people hang out, there were more yips than chips! Stayed in there a couple of hours resisting the urge to have a flutter, it's times like this that being poor travellers really sucks! But then again this was the only way to spend a couple of hours without spending money in the city! Was going to jump off the tower (the highest jump in the world at 193m) until we realised that you don't actually freefall, you get lowered down onto a landing platform by a winch in 12 secs but not quite the same buzz as freefalling with the busy roads below. We ended up hitting a bar back near the campsite drinking Steinlager and watching the All Blacks stuff France in the rugby. Should see the kiwis when the All Blacks do the huka, it certainly gets them going! The pub was absolutely full of families, couples, groups of friends all out for the night to watch the game. They're a very passionate nation. It's so nice to see that unlike back home everyone goes out together and gets behind their team.

A weekend in the city was enough for us so headed out to the Coromandel Peninsula, supposedly home to some of the best coastline in NZ. The best area was around Hahei. There is a stretch called Hot Water Beach and at low tide you can dig a hole in the sand which then fills up with hot water making your own little thermal pool. This is one strange island!! Another great spot was Cathedral Cove, a secluded bay only accessible by boat or an hours walk. White sands, clear blue water and naturally formed caves, some 20ft high. Really pretty looking out to see as there are islands dotted everywhere, it reminded us of Pirates of the Caribbean or Castaway.

Since then we've returned to Papamoa for a few days on the beach. It's one of our favourite sites in the North Island and the weather is being kind considering the time of year. We've managed to pick up a bodyboard off of a couple of girl travellers who we heading home, it seems to be the craze in Oz and NZ. Another act that proves Laurens thought of James losing the plot, down on the beach today he strips off and runs into the icy cold sea with his bodyboard strapped to his wrist. Soon got the hang of it and was riding the waves into shore on a slightly too small board. If once wasn't enough he spent half an hour in there! For you at home the southern pacific ocean this time of year isn't the warmest, but typical English we'll do anything if it's free! Unfortunately Loz's belly button again ruled this out for her, more like a bloody good excuse eh! But you never know what tomorrow brings...

It's funny hearing what's happening at home, some things don't change but in the last 7 months it's amazing how much we've seen and experienced. It certainly changed our thoughts on life and how you live it and especially what is important. There's so much out there to see and do it seems a shame that so many people don't get to explore it. We feel like we could just keep going round and round!!

Anyway, we have a cider in the fridge and its got our names on it so that's all folks!

A little anagram for you: MECOREHEGLEESONSALEW

Take care

James & Lauren xxx