Hi everyone,

As you all know, we have been on the road in New Zealand for just over 3 weeks, and it has been absolutely amazing!! This is such a beautiful country with so much to see and do and we have been making the most of it in our wee campervan!

We flew into Auckland to begin with and stayed with my friend Orla for a few days until we got the campervan sorted out, which was so helpful to us as it saved us about $250 in accommodation costs, and she is also letting us stay when we are back up there catching our flight to USA! Saving this much was such a big help as we ended up paying more for our campervan than we thought, as we were going to take the riskier insurance cover for the van which meant a $2,700 bond!! In the end though, we didn't have enough NZD to spare for that kind of bond, so we paid twice as much for the van to be fully covered, which we realised afterwards was the better option all along!!

So after 4 days with Orla, we hit the road and started north to see Cape Reinga. Unfortunately, for the first week of our trip, it rained a lot, but we got some spots of sunshine in between!! Cape Reinga was really lovely, it is the most northern part of New Zealand and it is where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet. The really cool thing was that these two seas have different densities and stay separate, even where they meet!! This meant that you could look out and actually see where the ocean ended and the sea started; you should also be able to see it in the photos!! We got some lovely pictures up there and then decided to have some lunch and push on down the East coast. Unfortunately, that plan went awry when we got back to the van and it wouldn't start!! We quickly worked out that I had left the headlights on and the battery had run flat!!!

As our insurance didn't cover call outs for this, we decided to wait and ask everyone else there if they had jump cables but everyone else up there was in rental cars as they were all tourists and nobody had any!! After a few hours, one couple offered to drive one of us back down to the garage 20km away for some help as we really didn't want to pay the call out fee!! So Matt went down the road with them and came back with a guy that worked in the garage and he got us back on the road, horray!!!! We gave him $20 as we were so grateful to be back on the road and it cost lot less than a call out fee!! So we drove to a place called Paihia, just a nice little waterfront town and had some coffee and sat by the lake.

Our next stop was the Bay of Islands, where we decided to stop for the night. The guy we worked with in Wandoan had given us a NZ sat nav, which was really handy except for this night!! We found a campsite on the sat nav close to where we were and we drove toward that; it was dark already so we were ready to pull up for the night. The sat nav took us off the main road and 5km down a small off road track, then the car suddenly disappeared from the screen at the bottom of a really steep, really narrow pathway, covered in stones and just wide enough for the van. We started driving up it but it had so many turns, we started getting into trouble and the van was so close to the edge, we were tilted driving up it. When we started skidding toward the side, we decided that this obviously wasn't the path we were meant to take but we had to follow it until we found a point to turn. We parked in a small, pitch black lane and were really shaken after almost falling off the path so we locked the van and walked down the hill to try to find where we should have turned off. It was the spookiest place I've ever been, just wandering through a forest trying to find a campsite, which we never found!! There was absolutely nothing around us, and the sat nav had just turned black so was no use!! We decided to try to get back down the hill and backtrack, which neither of us was keen on doing but we were less keen on staying where we were! We took it really slow and managed to get back down and head back towards the town, where Matt thought it was a good idea to tell me that he thought we were going to be murdered in the forest!!! With that traumatic experience behind us, we just pulled up in a lay-by with public toilets under some lights and slept there!! We swore that from then on, we would always park up before dark!!

As we had no lighting in the van, we always go to sleep really early here, around 7pm lol, which was a good job as at 4am, we were rudely awoken by 7 roosters, which apparently hang out at the public toilets. That was us up and about as they weren't stopping! We got back on the road straight away that morning and headed for Rotorua, famous for its natural hot springs. We looked forward to that especially as we had no access to showers that day! The nearby volcano activity underground is what heats the springs, but unfortunately for Rotorua residents it also gives out a stinking sulphurous odour so as soon as you drive toward Rotorua, you smell rotten eggs!! We went to the Polynesian Spa that evening, which wasn't really a 'natural' hot spring but it was lovely and warm and you looked out over the lake while you were in the pool. It was very relaxing, except that the water stank of eggs, so after leaving the spa with our swim suits and towels, our van then stank of rotten eggs for about 2 days!!

At this point, we noticed that our van was seriously making its way through the petrol, we could actually see the needle moving down the gauge! Apparently it was set to over drive in the van, which we could change. This is despite the guy at the rental site "turning it off for us". We now have it fixed but it still just drains the petrol, so we are forking out a lot of our money for petrol!! When we left Rotorua the next morning, we made our way to Waitomo Caves to do some caving and see some glow worms!! We had just missed the 10.30am trip, so we had to wait for the 12pm trip, which worked out in our favour as we were the only 2 people in that group so the guide took us to some extra places that we wouldn't have seen otherwise. We got kitted out in wetsuits and hard hats with lights etc as we would be caving about 20m underground!! We had big rubber rings with us to float through the caves where we could. First off, we had to climb through some pretty narrow gaps to get a look at some underground waterfalls, then as we got deeper, we got into our rings and floated through the caves in pitch black just gazing up at thousands of glow worms on the roof.

As it turns out, glow worms aren't actually worms, they are a fungus gnat and the glow they give out is to attract prey. Despite being a fungus gnat, they were still really pretty to look at and we also seen an adult fungus gnat, which looks a lot like a mosquito but they don't have a mouth so they don't live for very long, hence why it was so lucky to see one! This was probably the first action adventure we did since arriving in NZ and it really gave us a taste for more, so it was onward to Taupo and skydiving!!!!

We always knew we wanted to skydive over Lake Taupo as it is one of the cheaper skydives in NZ and 2 of my friends had already done it and said it was amazing!! So thanks to the recommendation from Kathy and Helen, we booked our skydive for the next day! Fortunately, there is a free campsite in Taupo because the skydive was so expensive!! It was a really basic campsite with no toilets or anything but it was free, so we stayed there for a few nights. It was called Reid's Farm and apparently had been left by the previous owner to be a free campsite as he liked backpackers, which was nice to hear as they charge you for absolutely everything in NZ, it is so pricey to travel round and sight see! We had intended visiting Hobbiton in Matamata to see the set of the hobbit houses from Lord of the Rings but it was $65, and that was just to see the outside as the interior filming was done on set in Wellington!! So we decided against that and drove on to Taupo!!

Skydiving was amazing!!!!! Absolutely amazing!!!!! Neither of us were actually as nervous as we thought we would be, maybe until the plane door opened! The company we did it with was excellent, the guys that jumped with us were really good, friendly and really made sure you had a good time! As it turned out, we were the only 2 people in our load so our skydive video is just us two, which was brilliant!! First off, we got geared up and into the plane and the guys we were jumping with talked us through a few things and we each had a guy videoing our while dive. We dropped one guy off at 12,000ft and cruised on up to 15,000ft for our jump. At 10,000ft, I started getting really light headed and feeling drunk, but at this point they give you an oxygen mask until you get up to the jump zone. It wasn't until my diver, Leski, said OK, we will go first and they opened the plane door and he started scooting down towards it that it really hit me and I got nervous! It is actually your diver that jumps out of the plane, so what happens is you are dangling outside the door attached the guy sitting on the plane edge; it was so surreal feeling!!! Then he just jumps!!! The first sensation you get is your stomach dropping, and the first thing you see is the plane moving away from you, then you turn round and are just looking at the whole of Lake Taupo and its surroundings while falling at around 200km an hour for 60secs. To be honest, I actually can't remember the whole jump!! I must have been freaking out during the fall and blocked some out!! But I do remember how absolutely amazing it felt falling through the sky and when he loosed the parachute, you just floated through the air; it was so calm and quiet and you just cruised along looking at everything around you! It was a sensational experience and as it turns out, an addictive one as we both really want to do it again!! If you have watched the video of our skydive on facebook already, you might have noted that Matt looks to be enjoying himself a little more than me, but this is not the case!! After Leski released the parachute, he started doing spins with it on the way down, which did absolutely nothing for the motion sickness I discovered I had on the Whitsundays. So after a couple of spins, I was just moaning the whole way down (still enjoying myself) and was still really dizzy after landing; while Matt lands shouting about how much he loved it!! If any of you are ever thinking of doing it, we would totally recommend it; it was one of best things we have done since we started travelling!!!

When we got back from skydiving, we booked to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing the next day, an 8 hour hike over a small mountain just south of Taupo. We had to meet the guides at 6am the next morning! What they failed to tell us at the time was that the weather was going to be really poor for the hike and very cloudy, so we wouldn't be able to see any of the sights we booked the trip to see! I was really annoyed with having to hike for 8 hours in the snow and rain, not to see any sights as it is the only reason I booked the trip! It was still a good walk and we seen a load of old volcanic rock and old eruption sights and it is also the volcano region of Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. The ascent up the mountain was quite difficult, as it was blistering cold wind the whole way up; one girl had her hair down and on one side of her head, all her individual hairs were separated and coated in ice!! The guide was telling us about the history of the site and the last eruption was around 1896. He joked that if we could taste something metallic at the back of our mouths to let him know as it is apparently a sign of an eruption starting to happen. While no-one tasted anything, we woke up the next morning after the hike to find out that the bloody thing erupted during the night!!!! For the first time since 1896 and the day after we hiked it!!! It was super scary reading about it on the internet, we can't believe it happened! It has covered the nearest towns in ash and flights have been grounded etc. Locals reported seeing some glowing magma at the top of it too, so we were lucky there!! We missed the eruption by about 6 hours!!

So safe to say we seen a LOT of action in Taupo!! Next on our agenda was Wellington! Just before we arrived in Wellington and were still driving along the state highway; the surroundings just opened up and we were driving right along the coast with Wellington at the other end and the sun shining over it all. It was definitely the most picturesque city we have been to.

Our friend Fiona lives in Wellington and she was putting us up for the 3 days we were spending there, so we had not only a hot shower and clean clothes but a bed to sleep in too!! Unfortunately, it rained the whole time we were in Welly!! We visited the Te Papa Museum, which had a lot of information about the Maori culture but considering New Zealand is quite a young country, there wasn't a whole lot of history to see at it!!

We were excited about hitting the South island as it is supposed to be the more beautiful of the two, and it really was, from the moment you crossed over. The ferry from Wellington to Picton was over 3 hours long and crossed the Cook Strait. As we left the port in Welly, we could see more and more of the coast and surrounding mountains and it looked amazing!! Coming into Picton was even better but as we got closer, fog completely enveloped us. We went out to look at it but you couldn't see a thing, not even the sea over the edge because it was so thick; I don't know how the captain could navigate in it!! Picton is a tiny little port where all the ferries arriving from Wellington pull into. Any direction you drive from the port takes you up a mountain, where you can see the view from above as you see in the photos. The drive was spectacular as you always seemed to be above the view looking down at tree tops poking out of clouds or the huge sides of mountains literally outside your door.

We decided to try to drive along the coast as much as possible as the views were so astounding, so we made for Abel Tasman, where we stopped at the National Park. You can do a 4 day trek here, which I think would be amazing in the summer but as it was raining (yet again!), we only took a 30 min walk along the start of the path and even this looked pretty cool. So after Abel Tasman, we drove down towards Westport to do the Westport to Greymouth drive, as was recommended to us by our bus driver from the volcanic valley. It was definitely one of the best scenic drives in the world!! The road was a little scary because it was so twisty and had just enough room for two cars before it dropped off the edge to the sea below!! Despite that, it was about a 3 hour drive right up and over the mountains with the sea just below you and as far as you can see! Absolutely stunning!! It goes to show that you should always speak to the natives about where to visit and the Kiwi's were more than helpful as this wasn't our only great recommendation!

We spent the night in Greymouth in a really cool wee hostel, where they had free fresh baked scones every night (just as we arrived ) and loads of turtles in tanks all around the hostel. The other guests were a lot friendlier than in other hostels and it had a really laid back atmosphere. It was a welcome change to going to sleep at 7pm in the van because it got dark!!

The only activity we decided to do in the South island was the Franz Josef glacier hike. We had originally wanted to do the Ice Explorer tour where we would have got a helicopter up to the glacier and then hiked through ice tunnels etc but as it was getting toward the end of our time in NZ and the van was eating so much petrol, we took the glacier valley walk and saved $400 between us!! While we didn't get any time on the actual glacier, we took a really nice walk through the valley and our guide was full of information about the mountains, the eruptions that caused the valley and the glacier itself. The craziest fact he told us was that in the past 10 years, the glacier has receeded a half a kilometre! How's that for global warming!! He was telling us that he is from Kaikoura (our next destination), and that apparently any time soon, scientists have predicted a huge earthquake that will hit at least 8 on the Richter scale and will occur on the East-West plates, meaning that size of the tidal wave it was produce would completley wipe Kaikoura from the New Zealand map!! Considering our guide for the volcano told us an eruption was due sometime and it happened a few hours after we walked it, we were a little wary of heading on to Kaikoura! We were OK though!!lol

Kaikoura was a really lovely town, literally all at 0m sea level and completely surrounded by snow-capped mountains. We could easily see how it could be washed away by a tsunami, it would be a shame though as it was so nice!

On our drive down towards Christchurch, our last stop in New Zealand, we were driving down the state highway and a group of about 10 sparrow looking birds flew out in front of the car. We had started calling them kamikaze birds because they were always flying out in front of the cars. This one wasn't quick enough though and we heard the bang as we hit it. We forgot all about it after that and 2 days later we were walking back towards the van and I noticed something stuck in between the vents on the bumper. When we got closer, it turned out to be the birds legs!!! The bird was completely jammed in the vents intact and when Matt lifted the bonnet and looked in, he could see the birds head just staring back up at him!!lol He tried to get it out with a tent peg later that night but it really must have smacked the car hard because it was not coming out so we just left it there when we handed the car back into the rental company! They never said anything though but some poor guy is going to have had a job getting it out!!!

Overall, our trip to New Zealand was fantastic!! We seen so many things and had some great experiences, our favourites were definitely Milford Sound back in March and the skydiving; completely crazy experiences!! Our time as international bums is coming to an end, we have 4 weeks left and will be spending those in USA!!! Now that we still have a whole other continent to visit, we are realising just how much we have done in the past year; it's been a real whirlwind, but we have loved every minute of it and going to make the most of having another whole 4 weeks to go!!!

Nicola & Matt