Gwnaethom adael y blog diwethaf a ninnau ar long . . wel, gwnaethom gyrraedd ynys y gog yn saff!!! Ond mae arnai ofn mai'r un fformat fydd y blog yma'n cael ei ysgrifennu hefyd . . . . . ddim cweit gymaint o leoliadau, ond hyd yn oed llai o amser i'w profi a mwynhau.

Iawn, felly'r stop cyntaf, prif ddinas Seland Newydd, Wellington, neu llys enw windy welly. Roedd hi'n wyntog hefyd, ond braf. Ardal dinasog, poblog ond del iawn.

Yr hen bluebird yn ein cymryd at Wanganui. Aros wir yng nghartref boi a'i gi, Sebastian, labrador 14mis oed. Ciwt, ond heb foesau da iawn.

Ohakune wedyn, lle ar ol ffeindio llety am y noson y gwnaethom ddilyn ein trwynau er mwyn gweld rhaeadr gollums, roedd golygfa anhygoel o mt ruapehu i'w weld hefyd. Ei fethu ar y ffordd i'r rhaeadr, ond nefi, roedd y mynydd wedi troi fynu erbyn i ni ddychwelyd!! Penderfynnu torri ar draws un or tracks eraill wedyn . . .awr a hanner i fod. Dwy awr wedyn dal i droedio drwy'r mwd, yn syrthio a sglefrio bob yn ail. Hollol ddoniol, heblaw am y traed gwlyb, ar sgidau sydd dal yn drewi.

ymweld a llosgfynnydd oedd yn edrych fel llosgfynnydd traddodiadol, sef mt ngauruhoe, neu mt doom i'r sawl sydd wedi gwylio lord of the rings, neu fel fi, sydd methu dweud ngauru thingy. troedio trek yn ein fflip fflops. llithro a sglefrio drwy'r gwrych ar mwd unwaith eto, ond golygfa anhygoel o'r ddau fynydd.

Ymlaen at Taupo. Gweld y cyntaf or sgil effeithiau gweithgaredd geothermal, wrth i'r nentydd oedd yn bwydo mewn i'r llun wir stemio, ar arwyddion yn ein rhybuddio o'r 'dwr poeth'. Lisa a minnau yn penderfynnu parhau ar addysg rafftio o thailand, a mynd lawr afon gyda rapids yn cyrraedd lefel 3 +. Hollol anhygoel, Lisa hyd yn oed yn llwyddo i wneud summersalt gwerth 10.00 allan o'r rafft, gan barhau i ddal ymlaen i'r rhaff ar ochr y rafft. Ei sgrech yn debyg iawn i'r un mae'r cymeriad bach yn Memoirs of a geisha yn ei wneud wrth iddi gael ei chwipio (gwnaethom wylio'r ffilm y noson hynny!!!). Ar ol chydig eiliadau dan dwr (wir, heb sylwi ar unrhyw sgil effeithiau) cael ei thynnu nol mewn gan y geid. Adloniant i ni gyd. A dyma gyfle iddi gael ei phen nol dan dwr wrth i ni groesi afon, dringo rhaff a neidio oddi ar rhaeadr wedi ei greu gan rew wedi toddi o'r llosgfynnydd. Llwyddais yn osgeiddig slipio oddi ar y garreg i mewn i'r dwr. Joio siocled poeth milo a darn siocled black forest wrth eistedd mewn dwr llonydd ar y rafft. mwy o rapids cyn ei gwneud yn ol am y sied cychwynol i gael ci poeth a photel cwrw wedi ei wneud yn defnyddio planhigyn brodorol. blasus iawn.

Ymlaen i rotoroa wedyn, wir i ganol byd y gweithgareddau geothermal. Teimlo eitha sal y prynhawn cyntaf hwnw yn sgil arogl y sylffyr, sydd o ran diddordeb o ganlyniad i'r crysialau sylffwr yn y creigiau, ddim y dwr. Gweld llun asidig, pot coffi (mwd poeth) ynghyd a geyser bach, hynny o fewn y dref ei hun. Ymweliad a phentref byw maori, a chael perfformaid o ganeuon ac offerynau traddodiadol ynghyd ar hakka enwog!! JOIO. Gweld y geyser prince of wales enwog yn poeri yn uchel i'r awyr, ymweliad a'r ardal goginio, lle'r oeddyn yn taflu llysiau i fewn i bwll berwedig naturiol, ynghyd a grat wedi i leoli yn y ddaear oedd yn stemio'r bwyd. dysgu am draddodiadau maori ynghyd ar modd maent yn defnyddio'r gweithgareddau naturiol i fyw eu bywydau.

I ffwrdd a ni, oddi wrth yr arogl at mt maunganui am y diwrnod, dringo'r mynydd, a chrwydro o'i gwmpas, penderfynnu symyd ymlaen at hamilton. Lleoliad dwytha Julien hefo ni y crazy welshies.

Trafferth ffeindio lle i aros yma, ond lwcus cael y 3 lle olaf mewn hostel chydig y tu allan i'r ddinas. Ardal poblog unwaith eto, llawn siopau a bwrlwm, a digon i'w wneud i'n hadloni am chydig ddyddiau. Dyma'r ddinas lle y cafodd awdur the rocky horror picture show ei fagu, a thu allan i'r theatr lle yr oedd yn gweithio mae Cerflun Riff Raff a chyfarwyddiadau'r gan enwog Time warp.

Gadael Julien, ac ymlaen at y 'road trip olaf' Blue bird hyd yn oed wedi cael digon ar y tapiau, bellach yn gwrthod eu chwarae!!! wps. Y stop cyntaf Thames, tref bach, tawel, teimlad cryf bod pawb yn gwybod busnes pawb . . . ymlaen at coromandel, a theithio ymhellach gan gyrraedd pen y peninsiwla, sef bae jackson. torri ar draws y pigyn bach yma gan deithio ar hyd ffordd 309 yn dysgu am y kauri, coeden brodorol. dreifio ar hyd glan y mor hyd at te aroha, sef y stop dwytha cyn cyrraedd auckland. Bwthyn bach yn aros amdanom. neb i'w gweld, dim ond drws an henwau arno a nodyn yn datgan wrthym i wneud ein hunain yn gartrefol ac y bydd y perchnogion draw am 8. mwy yn troi fynu ac ymuno yn y bwthyn 3 stafell wely. Cosi, a chartrefol, heb os!!

A dyna gyrraedd y stop dwytha. Auckland. Ffarwelio ar hen bluebird. Lisa'n mynd am drip at waitomo caves, golygfa hudolus wedi ei greu gan 'glow worms' yn goleuo'r ogofau fel pe baent yn ser yn yr awyr tywyll. Dyma gyfle euraidd i bampro wrth i'r ddwy ohonan ni dorri'n gwalltiau . . .ie torri, ddim siafio dwin addo mam. I fod yn onest, dyma gyfle i ymlacio a dal ein hanadl cyn symyd ymlaen at bum niwrnod yn chile, lle y bydd taith L.S yn dod i ben.

Cyfarchion yr wyl i bawb a phopeth, mwynhewch.

sgityl & L.S
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The last blog was left with us on a ferry . . . . well we made it safely!! I'm afraid this blog will be written in the same format as the last one. Yes there are fewer places to visit, but we also had less time.

the first stop, new zealands capital. The windy city also known as wellington. True to it's name, the wind was in fact rather strong,. but, the sun was shining, there were people all around, and while sitting at the dockside, watching those people pass, you couldnt help but like the place!

Little old bluebird then took us onto Wanganui. We were literary staying in someones house. sharing it with the owner and his 14 month old labrador, Sebastian. Cute, enthusiastic dog, which quite often lost any form of manners.

Ohakune was next, after finding a place to stay, we followed our noses a bit, deciding on completing a short trek which would lead us onto Gollums waterfall, with stunning views of the mountain to be seen along the way. We missed the mountains on the way to the waterfall, not quite understanding where this awesome view was . . . . on the way back, just happened to look right, and there it was, a volcano, overshadowed by a bit of clouds. Indeed an amazing view. having completed this trek sooner than expected, we decided to partake in a different route to the car, which was a longer walk. the sign read 1hour and 30mins, we took just under 3 hours, having to clamber through pools of mudd and water, only to reach the main road and walk a further 3 kilometers to the car. At one point we all slipped or fell in the bush or into the mudd. Consequently, the plan of trekking around the volcanos the next day had to be re-considered, but somehow, we still managed to find puddles of mudd and water to slide in (this time in flip flops) before reaching the top of the walk, showing us amazing views of both mt ngauruhoe (or mount doom to the avid lord of the rings fans amongst you!!) and Mt rouapehu.

Moving onto Taupo. And our first taste of seeing geothermal activities, you could clearly see the steam from the natural water feeding the lake, and obvious 'warning, hot water' signs made this natural activity quite clear. Lisa and I decided to embark on some more extreme sport activities by going white water rafting, this one of 3+ grade!!! It was amazing!!! Lisa even managed to complete a perfect 10.00 summersalt into the water . . . .. (her scream/screech can only be described as the same kind of noise as the little girl in memoirs of a geisha does when she is beaten with a stick - watch it!!) following a few seconds underwater . . no havent seen any drastic side effects . . . . she was pulled back into the rafft by our guide . . . . entertainment for us all!!!! Anyhow, we pulled up and came to a stop, crossed the river in our little rubber shoes and reached a pool of naturally (icy cold) water from the volcano, a waterfall was feeding it, and we all had the opportunity to climb up a rope, and jump into the (again) icy cold water . . . . . we both jumped (boom boom) at the chance to do so, my leap was more of a slip with dignity!! :p good fun, followed by hot milo and cadburys in the rafft! A few rapids later, and no traumatic events, we were back in the big shed in the industrial estate showering, eating a hot dog, viewing our pics and drinking beer made from natural plants (not all at the same time) before returning to our hostel!

Rotoroa. to be honest, I spent the first afternoon feeling quite sick. The sylphur stink was rather overpowering, hitting us in whafts . . .out of interest, the stink is actually caused by the sylphur crystals within the rocks, not the actual water. Anyhow, within the first afternoon we'd seen a coffee pot (bubbling mud) a small geyser and an acid lake!! The next day we actually visited a natural, living thermal village which truly gave us a stong insight into this geothermal activites and how local people lived with it. The visit started with a traditional performance using native instruments, dancing and of course the all important hakka . . which gave that hairs standing on the back of your neck feel - awesome!!! We were then given a guided tour around the village, seeing more bubbling mudd, the famous prince of wales geyser, and also seeing the natural bubbling water they used to cook vegetables, the grid using natural geothermal steam to cook meat, as well as the natural water they used to bath every night (communally) Incidentally, not one member of the village who bathed in the natural water has suffered from exzema, athritis or psoriasis.

We left the rotoroa smell and visited Mt maunganui for the day, walked up it, came down, walked round it, and decided to move onto hamilton. This would be the last location Julien would spend with the crazy Welshies!!!

We could quite easily have stayed in a mental home, unfortunately, or fortunately they had no room . . . in fact the first 6 or 7 hostels were full, this, it seems to be THE place to party. Luckily, the last hostel we tried before trying to find a tent had three free beds. Hamilton, your average city, full of people and shops, though, it had a good vibe, a beautiful place with plenty of flowers and gardens to visit. This also was the place where the creator of the rocky horror picture show lived, and outside the picture show where he worked as a hairdresser there is a statue of riff raff, and the directions on how to dance the time warp . . . which of course we completed with enthusiasm!!

And there we left Julien, (aurevoir mon ami) and moved onto the last road trip. By this point, bluebird had had enough of the tapes and was refusing to play them!! ouch. First stop, a small town called Thames, a really small town here, with the strong feeling that everybody knew everybodys business. the next town, Coromandel, we decided, due to the fact it was raining to continue with the drive, and by doing so reached the tip of the peninsula, which was called jackson's bay. At this point we had a sheep dog pee on us (by us, I mean bluebird) as it was herding cattle. Nice. We cut accross the top of the bay travelling along route 309 while learning about the kauri, the tree of new zealand. We continued to drive along the coast towards te aroha, our last stop before auckland, A small 3 bedroon cottage waiting for us, nobody to be seen, as we ventured inside there was a poster saying that, if we'd booked in advance then our names had been placed on the door of the bedroom which held our bed for the night, and there it was, more came to join us in the cozy place, very homely spending the night completing jigsaws and drinking hot chocolate while listening to a tape of elvis presely!!!

And then we arrived at Auckland. Somehow managing to guide Bluebird into the city and venturing the one way systems to say goodbye to our faithful friend. That little bluebird had served us well. Lisa visited waitamo caves, which offered the chance to see little glow worms light up the roof of the cave as if they were stars in night sky. This is also the place where we indulged a little in our appearances and had our hair cut . . . yes cut not shaved mam!!!! Basically, we had the chance to chill and wash all our clothes and bags intently! We had a long flight ahead of us, and then 5 days including christmas in chile before Lisa's trip came to an end, and I headed on to Buenos Aires!

Take care everybody, Seasons greetings and all that,

Peace, love and some smiles

Sgityl & L.S
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