We spent a few days in Rotorua as there is lots to do there. First we took the Gondola up the hill which gives you good views over Rotorua, then we did the Skyswing. This is basically a seat suspended on rope surrounded by a circular metal frame, which you are strapped into, winched up 50m and let go. You reach speeds of up to 150 kilometres an hour as you swing out over a cliff. Next we took the Luge down the hill. This is a concrete track which you hurtle down on a plastic tray on wheels with handlebars, you get a lift up the hill ski lift style and go down again. It sounds like it's just for children but there are more adults than kids on there and there's even an advanced track!

The one drawback about this place is the smell, all the geothermic activity means there is a smell of sulphur in the air which you get in whiffs, apparently the locals get used to it and stop noticing it after a while! We took a drive out to Hell's Gate a geothermal park where there are lots of different thermal pools bubbling furiously, one pool has a surface temperature of 122 degrees centigrade which increases to 145 degrees one meter below the surface! They can reach these temperatures because of the minerals in the water. There was also a bubbling mud pool and a mud volcano. The rotten egg smell was very strong here!!

We went to a Maori culture show Tuesday evening. The warriors arrived on a war canoe and we saw traditional dance including the Haka, singing and a weapons demonstration. Our traditional Hangi meal was slow cooked underground and was delicious. Our last activity in Rotorua was to go in the Zorb. This is a plastic ball about 3m in diameter which you get inside and roll down a hill either strapped in or with water. We did it strapped in and you go head over heals so many times you don't know which way is up, Martin actually felt a bit sick afterwards! Wednesday evening we went to Graham and Lynn Leigh's.

We headed onto Taupo after Rotorua. We stopped at the Huka falls which although are not a great height are impressive because of the turquoise colour of the water and force with which they gush through the narrowed chasm of the Waikato river. Afterwards we met up with Danny Pepper and his friends and we watched two of them do a bungy jump over the river.

Friday we left Taupo and headed out towards the east coast, we stopped at Napier, a coastal town that was devastated by an earthquake in the 1930's. It was rebuilt with many Art Deco style buildings, but a few of the original wooden houses remain along the sea front. Needing to get closer to Wellington we planned to stay somewhere around Palmerston North, but as we were in good time we continued all the way to a campsite just outside Wellington. Saturday we spent the morning in the Te Papa museum, we don't really like museums usually but this one was recommended to us by a few people and was actually quite good, it documented New Zealand's history with many film clips and simulators. We spent the afternoon shopping in Lower Hutt, getting a few things we needed.

We spend Sunday with Rowan and Kirsty Hannah and their three little girls Olivia, Emily and Lucy. We had a picnic lunch in the park and a few others joined us there. Kirsty's parents Wayne and Sue Duncan, invited us over for supper when they heard we plan to go to Mongolia as they went there two years ago, so we got some helpful hints and tips and saw their photos.

We had fantastic weather the whole week.