NORTH ISLANDFrom Cairns we flew into Auckland in the north island of New Zealand !! We were both so excited to travel New Zealand as its commonly known as the adventure capital of the world !! Auckland is the largest city in NZ and a third of the New Zealand population live there. It was a very lively and insanly busy city which seemed to never sleep. We stayed in the main high street in Auckland and had easy access to the main shops and resturants.  Auckland was a really pretty and diverse city that was conviently located next to the gorgeous city harbour. We spent three cool days wandering the city and harbour and we throughly enjoyed ourselves as the city had a cool vibe and atmosphere !! We met a couple who were sharing our dorm room and they were awesome people (called James and Halyey from Cornwall) !! We spent a few days with them in Auckland and had a few cheeky nights out with them in the evenings. The bars there were really funky and we discovered a wicked Irish bar (I swear since being away, we have vivted more Irish bars then we could have ever imagined, they are on every corner of every highstreet !!). One of the days in Auckland we did a free city tour with Kiwi experience, which took us to outer Auckland to North Shore, which was a gorgeous suburb that offered outstanding views of the city skyline.  Also on the free day tour we climbed the Auckland Harbour bridge which was an impressive bridge that was wicked to climb. It was quite a windy day so the bridge was rocking and swaying during each gust of wind. It was quite unsettling at times as my fear of heights caught up with me and bit me on the ass, but it was awesome overlooking the city. A couple of the travellers on the tour did a bungy jump off the bridge (42m long), but we declined as we were saving ourselves for the king of all bungys (the 134m nevis bungy jump in queestown, Arrrgh !!)From Auckland we travelled to Paihia which is the gateway to the incredibly gorgeous Bay of Islands. The bay of islands comprises of 144 islands which are situated just off the main land. Paihia boasted some magnificent costal scenary and as it was beautifully sunny there, we were able to admire the islands in all their glory. During our stay there we went for many coastal walks and just admired all the pretty beaches and lagoons. On the second day we decided to go for a 5hr trek into the rainforest to witness this gorgeous waterfall. It was a spectactular waterfall that was huge and powerful and it was definately worth the 5 mile walk. In the evenings we met up with Hayley and James (who stayed in Paihia to work for two months) and we had a few sneaky beers in the bar. Even though Pathia was incredibly beautiful, we decided to leave the mainland and explore the islands more thouroughly. Kat and Nory recommended to us an overnight crusie that they did, and so we took their advice and did a 24hr cruise on a floating backpackers called The Rock. We had a brillaint day and night on the boat as we partcipated in some fun activites including shooting, fishing and mussle diving. There were approx 32 people on board and we had a  wicked day and evening in their company. The shooting provided awesome entertainment and Matt actually won the competition (a free beer was the top prize) with his impressive shooting skills. We were always amused on the boat as we were always taking part in some crazy and exciting activity. Before dinner that evening we did some fishing (I watched as I felt cruel fishing) and matt really got into the spirit of fishing. He caught lots of pink snappers as they were chomping visiously at his line. That night we had a huge bbq and it was gorgeous, the food was succelent and we happily stuffed ourselves. At about 11pm we went night kayaking which was undoubtably the highlight of the trip. In the night we all boarded our kayaks and spent half hour kayaking under the stars on the calm waters. The night was stunning as it was crystal clear and the stars were shining brightly and intensely. We had never seen so many stunning stars in the night sky and looking up at them from the open ocean was spectactular. Also when we were kayaking, the whole water was lit up superbly by the sparkling phosphloration in the sea. Tiny living organisms in the sea light up when they get excited and therefore sparkle in the water. When we pushed our oars into the waters, the organisms would become extremely excited and would sparkle, gleam and ignite all of these gorgeous and magnificent colours. We did not know where to look, as the stars were brethtaking to view but the phospholration in the sea was also outstanding to witness. We were spoilt for choice by these equally magical and gorgeous surroundings and as a result we had a fantastic time on the kayak trip. In the morning we had a luxurious and scrumptious brekfast and then we travelled around the islands on the floating hostel, admiring the scenary.We were even accompanied by some playful dolphions who stayed with us for a while by racing the boat. We watched them for ages as they were happily performing flips and dives for our amusement. It was wonderful seeing them and they never cease to amaze me, they are incredible creatures which are a pleasure to watch.  Once the dolphns left us, we docked at an island and hiked to the top of the peak. The views at the top of the island were spectacular, as we could clearly see all the neighboring islands that were surrounded by stunning lagoons and beaches. We were astonished by how gorgeous the islands were, we were truley amazed by the beauty of the Bay Of Islands. On the way back to Paihia, we engaged in some snorkelling (which nearly gave me hyperthermia, it was that cold) and played alot of pool which was a fun experience as the boat was moving at quite a speed. We had a brillaint time on the cruise as we visited some fascinating places and particpated in some magaical and unforgettable activites.From Paihia we travelled back to the manic city of Aukland. Sadly we had to stay there for longer than we anticpated as i had to visit the doctor at the City hopspital. For five days i endured excruicating abdominal pains which i did not think was normal. Therefore I went to Auckland city hospital and the doctor put me on a drip as my oxygen levels in my blood were terribly low. The doctor said that with the oxygen levels i had, i should not have been walking, talking of functioning. After being on a nourishing drip for what seemed like forever i was able to leave (not without a prescription full of drugs thou).After loading up on my many antibiotics, we left Auckland to kickstart our kiwi adventure with kiwi experience. On the first day of the experience, we were taken to Mount Eden which was a dormant volcano that provided us with 360 degree views of Auckland and the surrounding harbour. The views were awesome and the sky line of the city was impressive. During the first day on the kiwi we stopped at a few destinations on route to Mercury Bay, in particlaur Catherdal Cove and Hot Beach. We took a 2hr coastal clifftop trek to catherdal cove which was a gorgeous secluded beach with a cathedral shaped archway in the volcanic rocks. The beach was beautiful and the huge rocks in the sea provided fabolous and intriguing scenary. Whilst at the beach we saw our first fur seal that was sleeping under the cathedral rock. As it was a sunny day, Matt entertained himself by taking the plunge into the freezing NZ waters. He jumped off the many huge rocks that were situated in the middle of the sea (the crazy ass), and when he resurfaced from the water, he was blue lipped and shivering. We had an awesome 4 hours at the beach as it provided some incredible scenary of the coast and the volcanic rocks. Our next stop was to Hot water beach which was a huge beach that strangely had boiling hot water under the sand. The tide was in our favour when we arrived at the beach and so we dag a hole near the thermal outlet and soaked ourselves in the boiling water that was lying beneath. As the water was at boiling point, we could not stand in it for longer than 5 seconds as it would scorch and steam our skin. When the water from the sea came in, it cooled the hot bubbly water immensly and so we were able to bathe in the beautifully warm waters. Volcanic activity is what casued the water to boil and we had never experienced anything like that before !! It was a great first day on the kiwi and we saw some amazing scenary and wonderful beaches !! At this point we were extremely excited for all the magnificent things that we were yet to experience.

Our next destination was to the unusual town of Rotorua. This place is a a little strange due to all the steam that surfaces and rises from under the streets and through the storm water drians. We drove past a few parks on entering Rotorua and there would be steam errupting from the ground and dispersing everywhere. It was quite sureal to witness but this actrivity is what makes the place unique. Another crazy feature of this town was the smell that lingered in the streets and parks. Upon arriving there, the distinctive smell of Sulphur instantly hit us and it was terribly foul. The sulphur dioxide that was created by the geothermal activity sadly causes the town to smell of sulphur. The smell was not very pleasant and walking through the streets was a challenge as sometimes the smell was unberable. Beside from the disgusting smell and hot steams, Rotorua was an adventure hot spot and we had alot of fun partciapting in the exciting adventure activites. Our first stop was to the luge which was a concrete track that had been specifically built 5k down the side of a mountain. We all started at the top of the track and in our racing carts (no acceleater or gears, just a cart with a bmx handle bar and braking system) we raced down the track trying to overtake and speed past each other. It was awesome fun as we would zoom down these tracks at full throttle whilst trying to avoid collision with each other or the grassy banks. Matt who switched into "go kart mode" became very competitve and effectivley whiped our buts clean and proper. He even beat the driver who was apparantly undefeatable on the track. We did 3 races in total and it was great fun.

That evening we went to a mauri culture night which educated us on mauri tribal living and how they used to survive before the invasion of Europenans. The cultural night was definiely a highlight of the north island as it was a magnificent night. We arrived at the mauri village at 7pm and was shown a ritual which invites the chiefs into the village from the conflicting tribes. The idea was to manipulate the chiefs and to scare and frighten them as it was all about intimidation. Watching the mauri perfom the dance and intense ritual was superb and it make us appreciate and respect their faith and beliefs. After the chief was invited into the village, the mauris perfomed the Huka dance that was admirable and awesome to watch. We were then educated on their survival and and how they used natual surrounding resources to live.  Afterwards we were seated in their village hall and for an hour they performed amazing dance routines, sang songs and told ancient stories about the act of love and honour. Watching them was inspiring as they were so passionate about their tradition and history. It was such an eye opener and as they were so freibdly, it made us realsie that native New Zealanders are intilligent, spritual and honourable humans !! After the dancing we were taken to what for me and matt regarded as the best aspect of the evening "The Feast".We were escorted to a glorious food hall and were treated to the most gorgeous and scrumptious meal. The meal was cooked underground (which is the mauri traditional way) and it was unbeliveably tasty. As it is an insult to the mauris for anyone to leave the room hungary, they had prepared an abundnace of food which meant that we could go up for seconds or thirds. Me and matt had starved ourselves all day to perpare for the feast and so we took great advantage of the masses of food on offer. The meal was similar to a roast dinner but included native vegetables that were beautiful. At the end of the evening they performed a few more dances and rituals and we all left the village feeling satisifed and enertained. It was an incredible evening and we loved every second of it. We also learnt a new mauri word ' Ki ora", meaning hello, goodbye and thanks.

On leaving Roturua, we travelled to Te Puia which is NZ most well known thermal area complate with geysers and boling mud. It was astonishing to look at the geysers, as they shot hot steam and gas into the air making it a wonderful sight. All of the geysers were 100% natural and they were fascinating to view, as all you could see is huge masses of steam errupting and being shot out of the ground at an alarmingly high speed. The steam rose to approximatly 50m in the sky and so it was an awesome natural process to look upon. We had never previously seen anything like that, and when the steam reached its peak height, everyone was in awe.

After leaving the smelly but fascinating Rotorua, we headed to Waitomo which is home to the local limestone caves. During out short stay in Waiomo we decided to experience the thrill and so we explored the caves by going black water rafting. The caves are outstanding for two reasons, one they are fascinating to explore, and secondly the caves are home to glow worms which are maggots that hang from the roofs of the caves and glow brighly in the doomy darkness. We did the legendary black water rafting and as we felt dangerous we did the extreme and more crazy version, the Abys. This involved abseiling down sheer vertical caves that were 35m undergorund.  Abseiling down the 35m drop was the most scariest and exhilirating thing that we had experienced. We were hanging from this rope and had to manouver ourselves through these tiny caves whilst being dangled 30m in the air. Matt was a pro at the abseiling and he impressed the intrstructors immmensly. Once we were underground we zipped wired through the pitch black caves and it was such an amazing experience. Whilst being hurled through the caves on this fast wire, we could not see anything before us and so it was awesome. As we did the extreme version, we did loads of adrenaline pumped activites like waterfall climbing and cave jumping. This involved jumping off high caves into freezing cold waters whilst being submersed in a rubber dingy. We also climbed a few dare devil waterfalls that were extremely slippery and unstable. If we misplaced a foot, then we could have easily ended up in Hospital. The activites were quite dangerous as we were just freefall climbing on slippery rocks that had no grip due to the water gushing violently over them . We also climbed through these incredibly tiny caves which were not for the faint hearted as the caves were really cramped and claustrophobic !! We swam down rapid waterfalls and we spent alot of time walking through the caves neck deep in ice cold waters. On a few occassions the coldness hit us hard and we all lost feeling in our feet and hands. It was a very unpleasant and uncomfortable sensation and the coldness dominated our thoughts. However the instructors who were amazing guys always come to our rescue and provide us with hot tea and juice. Another highlight of the caving was the magnificent glow worms. A couple of times the instructors made a loud banging noise, and when we looked up it was an astonishing sight as all of the glow worms were shinning brightly. The caves were jet black and silent and all that was visible were these glistening glow worms that resembled sparkling stars. It was a beautiful sight and it added to the caving experience. The whole cherade lasted 3 and a half hours of  fascinating, entertaining and action packed adventure !!

In the morning of leaving Waitomo, we did a half hour bush walk in the Ruakuri reserve. The walk was well worth the effort as the scenary was amazing and it give us more of an insight into the abundance of limestone rock formation and caves that surrounded the area. The caves we hiked through were much more spacious and less daring that the ones we had experienced the previous day, but they were still remarkable to view. Our next destinatioin was Taupo and on the way we stopped at the famous Huka Falls which was an astonishing and gorgeous natural water fall. The falls included 11m of extremely powerful and vicious sparkling water. What made the fercious waterfalls more spectacular was that the water was a gorgeous and stunning clear bright turqoise colour that appeared so pure and unreal. It was a breathtaking sight as the power of the crystal aqua falls was inspiring to view. Many years ago when people were crazy, the falls and rapid were stupidly used for white water rafting. However as so many people died during the adventure, they closed the circuit off to the public. How any one could have survived the dangerous and harsh water is beyond imaginable as the water was extremely violent and dangerous. After visiting the magnificent Huka falls, we headed direct to Lake Taupo which is a enourmous lake that is big enough to fit the island of Singapore in. The lake was created by the largest volcanic explosion to date, which apparantly caused the skies in Rome and china to turn a dark red. The town of Taopa was situated next to the beautiful lake and it was a pleasant town that was lively and entertaining. That day we wandered through the streets of the Taupo and took a stroll around the gigantic and yet impressive lake. Taupo is famous as it is the gateway to the Tongarian National Park which is the second oldest national park in the world.

The following day on our free day in Taupo, me and matt decided to live life to the max and hike the 15K Tongarian crossing. This national park was where most of the lord of the rings films were filmed. We woke at 5am (nothing like rising at dark on a relaxing sunday morning!!), started the hike at 7am and it took us 6 and a half hours to complete the crossing. It was the most demading and challenging walk that we had ever experienced as it was so tiring and extremely painful on the joints and muscles. We were rock climbing for the majority of it as the mountains and cliffs were so incredibly steep. I am so proud that i completed it, but through out the walk i nearly gave up on several occassions. I also reckon that Matt probably wanted to kill me by the end due to my constant moaning. For most of the hike, he walked three paces ahead of me as i think i drove him insane with my many questions "How long left?" "Where are we?" "Are we lost?". It was the most strenuous and grueling walk that I had ever particpated in due to the hike being so demanding and long. By the end my whole body was aching and screaming with pain and i was so fatigued and exhausted ! However the pain was justified and the walk was well worth every ache and cramp, as the views at the peak of the volcanic mountains were mind blowing. We were at the base of mount doom (which was featured heavily in lord of the rings) and the scenary was simply indescribable. The volcanos were a rich deep dark red colour and were rugged and magnificent to look at. You have to witness the views to truely appreciate how spectacular the surroundings were!! We saw breathtaking mountains with huge craters that arose from volcanic activity. We saw massive crater lakes that were an electrifying bright blue colour and we saw beautiful emerald coloured lakes that were astonishing to view. The conrast and diverstity in the scenary through out the walk, was what made the  6 hr hike so appealing and inspiring. The views were dramtic, yet outstanding and we had a marvelous day completing the Tangerian Crossing !! The fascinating and gorgeous scenary is the main reason why the walk is considered to be one of the top 10 one day walks in the world. We had a great time admiring the surroundings, and we both agreed that it was the best hike that we have ever partcipated in. We were extremely proud that we endured the torture and finished the Tangerian crossing. It took us nearly 7 hrs to complete the difficult and awkward walk as there was no stable track or path. Every step was very rocky and unstable so at times it was chellenging and disheartening. Some crazy dude ran 10K to the start of the crossing, completed the harsh tangerain track and then ran a further 7k to the car park. It took him a grand total of 1 hr and 30 min to do this in !! What a LEGEND !!!!!!

After resting for the evening, we left Taupo the following day and headed to River Valley. Before reaching the destination, we stoped off at Taranaki Falls which was a gorgeous waterfall that featured as Golams layer in the lord of the rings. There was a ledge on top of the falls and the majority of the kiwi bus jumped the 10m into the freezing cold water hole !! Me and matt stayed on solid ground as we were still recovering from the coldness of the water caving !! The waterfall was beautiful to look at, and it made us realise what a stunning and wonderful county New Zealand is. The scenary through out the entire county is mind blowing and astoundingly beautiful, and it made us appreciate the county in all its glory !! A new recruit on the kiwi bus was a couple named Rachel and Tom who were from Surrey and they were both lovely people. Eventhou i did not regonise Rachel, i found out that both of us attanded Swansea Uni during 2002-2005 and she actually lived three doors down from me in Brymill which is the Swansea village we both stayed in. We thought that coincidence was a liitle scary as we had lived next to each other for two years and now we were both travelling NZ together!! Its a small world !! Our final stop of the day was River Valley which was a pretty little lodge situated in the middle of the country side, surrounded by sheep (just like home !!). The hostel was a gorgeous comfy and cosy lodge and that evening we had the pleasure of eating the most mouth watering roast dinner ever made. It was finger licking good and me and matt shocked everyone by going up for seconds and thirrds, it was that tasty !! The dorm rooms in the lodge were also amusing as each room sleeps 32 people. As you can imagine it was a fruitful and entertaining night !! As we were exhausted from the Tangerian crossing and i was still recovering from being ill, we decided to stay at the lodge for an extra day and chill out. Chris and Charlie who were an awesome couple that we had travelled with since Auckland stayed also, and we had a relaxing day playing pitch and put and swimming in the ice cold river !!

Feeling rejuvenated and relaxed from the prolonged stay at River Lodge, we then travelled to the capital of NZ, Wellington. We arrived in Wellington in the evening and so we decided to stay there for an extra day to check the cultural city out. Wellington was a lovely pretty city and as it was situated next to a harbour, it provided a pleasent stroll around the city ! The main tourist activity to do in Wellington was to visit the Te Papa museum which was the national museum of NZ. On our free day in the capital, me, matt, chris and chalie went to the musem which was a grand and amazing looking building. The museun included 6 floors of interesting information and artifects  about NZ history and culture. However after covering the first 4 floors, we all had complete brain overload and ended up walking around like zombies. We could not process any more data or facts as our brains were frazzled so we decided to give up and abdandon the museum. Te Papa was an awesome museum, prob the best one we had visited, but we all concluded that it was too big and crammed to much information in. For the rest of the day, we walked around the city and did a bit of retail shopping !! We really liked the city, we prefered it to Auckland as it retained more character and had more interesting things to look at !! That evening we all went to the bar and had a beer, however i was still on water due to the antibiotics so it was a dull evening for me !! That night, whilst attempting to sleep, we found out that we were sharing the dorm with this dude that had a serious nasal issue and snored like a wild animal. He kept us awake for 3 hrs as none of us had ever experienced a noise that loud and pig like in our life. We intially thought that he was faking the snoring and putting it on, but after a few hors we realised that he did actually snore that bad!! The noise was horrifying and was exceptionally loud, it was crazy! Nothing could wake him, it was like he was in a coma, so in the end we resorted to kicking his bed violently to make him rise. The cherade lasted all night but we all managaed to have a few hours kip !! It was quite amusing now looking back, but i do feel so sorry for any lady who he might hook up with !! She will have to take sleeping pills to sleep through that bulldozer !!

In the morning, all feeling exhausted from the snoring man, we headed to the ferry to travel to the South Island. We have had alot of fun in the north island, ithe scenary was extremely beautiful and we were lucky to have met some genuine and lovely people !!