New Zealand.. what can I say...

Flew into Auckland end of May.. spent a few days there sightseeing and shopping and then travelled to Rotorua and Taupo.

First off- Rotorua stinks! Absolutely pongs of eggy smells- but this is down to the natural geothermal smells of sulphur- so i knew someone wasnt following me around farting. First day there met Gary the Irish man, Juan young Spaniard and a French guy. Me and Gary went zorbing the next day ! It was so much fun. I did a running jump into my zorb that was filled with azure blue warm water (wee embarrassment here) and went bouncing down the mountain hill in a big inflatable ball! Something everyone should do- I assure you. Also did skygliding and luging! and a went to a geothermal pack- had a mud bath and sulphur spa - it was good good fun. will load pics soon.

After Rotorua i went to Taupo. I had booked my skydive for the following day- was scared , excited , nervous at the same time. But something ive always wanted to do. Had to wait around for over an hour- ' cool as a cucumber' i was- apparently. Time came to enter this TINY plane with 9 other people all squashed in- felt like some pretty heavy winds and my heart pounded in my chest.

And then the plane went down- because one of the cameramen forgot his camera! So anyway, up again, got to about 8,000ft and I started panicking and asked my guy - Jorn when i was going to be attached. I have to say his laugh didnt help matters whatsoever, and neither did the fact that the door was a flimsy plastic shutter that could fly open at any time! Got to 12,000 feet, Jorn attached me (finally), I pushed my head back- door opened and it was all go!!!!

That split second when you fall out had to be the scariest moment of my life. We swushed upside down and the sensation of falling a million miles an hour is very real- the wind was hitting my face- i was trying my best to smile and not to open my mouth coz i didnt want to choke. Forced my eyes to look around me and not concentrate on the falling and the views- boy were they spectacular! Then parachute open- went zipping to the left, til Jorn controlled it- and this is the strangest part- you dont feel like your moving at all- just floating- like suspended in mid air.

And then the bloody stupid German starting spinning the parachute around (so i get all the views) and I felt sick. Landing was good but i was so dizzy i had to sit for ten minutes. Needless to say, an amazing experience!

After this back to Auckland for my last few days- bartered for some gifts (im getting good at this) and on to FIJI. Oh btw you have to pay to leave NZ! Bloody airports.