We are now back after far too long, we've been having way too much fun & too many ropey Internet connections to keep our blog up-to-date... After NZ had got off to a flying start with dolphin/killer whale swimming, Maori hangis, black water rafting and sky diving we decided, along with out bank balance, it would be prudent if we tried some cheaper to enjoy New Zealand. A perfect place to start this was in River Valley - a picturesque lodge in the middle of ...

First things first, thought you might be interested in the route we are taking round NZ so follow this link (we are doing the 'Rangi' route): http://www.kiwiexperience.com/rangi-nz-pass.aspx#map Now on with the tour... we left Auckland for Mercury Bay with our bus driver "Nancy Boy" and a group of people we would be spending a fiar amount of time with over the next few weeks. On route we stopped off at a beach that sat right on top of a natural hot spr...

Our First Taste of the Souther Hemisphere After crashing in the hostel on our first night due severe jet lag we decided a trip up a mountain would be a good way to liven things up - so we tackled Mt Eden head on! Not far from downtown Auckland this volcano gave us some pretty impressive views of the city, we even spied Eden stadium where the Rugby World Cup final will be held later this year. We had to move hostels on our second night to be in the city for our...