Well have finally left Welly!

But not before a night at the cinema followed by a night of cocktails and then the final of NZ's first ever Masterchef! haha

Saw "Boy" on Friday night at the cinema with Carmel and Sarah. Was a Kiwi film following the story of a young maori boy. Was a bit apprehensive as was a comedy so was unsure would pick up the kiwi jokes but never had any problems am just that multicultural hahaha, well we did a Kuala Lumpur favourite of bubble tea! haha. After dinner headed along Cuba Street for tea before heading back!

Saturday we headed to the shops although never purchased anything other than alcohol for the cocktail party!! Did also stock up on food as Sunday was Anzac Day so everywhere was either shut or only open a half day. Headed back to hostel and spent afternoon lazing about before Mick and Lesley picked us up and we headed to party! Was such a good night with amazing punch!! Needless to say Sunday was a highly unproductive day although I blame Anzac Day for that rather than alcohol! haha.

Monday I finally sorted buses for the coming weeks and decided I would leave Wellington on Thursday :-( after getting everything booked headed to Parliament and went on a guided tour of the beehive and Parliament building. Was a recess day so tours had full access to all areas. Started tour in the beehive which is home to all parliamentary offices as well as swimming pool and gym (nice to know its not just british politicians that waster money haha). Then headed through the gallery and into the debating chamber before finishing off in the Maori Affairs room, which was amazing with the wall carvings!

Tuesday decided to go for a wander along Lambton Quay and down past the harbour to Te Papa where visited the parts I missed the first time. This time went through the different Maori legends as to how NZ was created as well as visiting the art gallery where found the Maori carvings and art work amazing (one would look great on my wall haha sadly no space in backpack!)

Wednesday was a day of getting myself organised i.e repacking backpack as it was a total mess had literally unpacked myself in Carmel's room! So that took most of the day as well as catching up on the last episode of Trailer Park Boys was hysterical!! Then after dinner and a couple of drinks was time for Masterchef final, enjoyed best with some wine and cheesecake!!

Thursday came around all too quickly and was time to say goodbye to Carmel (next time we meet will be for South America baby!!) and caught the bus for the 5 hour drive to Taupo. Welly certainly lived up to its windy name in last few days was glad to get on the bus for a heat! haha. Arrived in Taupo around mid afternoon and after checking into Urban Retreat headed for lunch of a sausage roll and a wander around before heading back to make tea. Meet some girls as was cooking so ended up spending night chatting to them!

Went walking to the Huka Falls on Friday. Headed out of Taupo town centre to the thermal spa and followed the walkway all the way to the falls. Took about an hour to get there walking along the forest and the river plus it was nice and sunny too! The falls weren't the most spectacular but the colour of the water and the amount of water crashing over them was def worth the walk! Once back in town went for a walk around Lake Taupo itself just at the bottom of the road from the hostel. Taupo is NZ's largest lake and the water was soooo clear! After that headed to the Taupo Museum which is home to the gold medal winning chelsea flower show garden; Ora: Garden of Wellbeing as well as other facts and stories about Taupo itself. It wasnt very big so didn't take long to wander around. Ended up watching Quantum of Solace last night have seen that film so many times when travelling think I know the part better than 007 himself! haha.

Am now in Rotorura and have enjoyed an afternoon at the Polynesian Hot Mineral Spa which is rated one of the top 10 in the world! The thermal pools ranged from 38degrees to 43degrees and all looked out onto the Lake Rotorura Thermal Reserve with the steaming natural springs and wildlife all around!

Will be in Rotorura tomorrow too where am planning on visiting a Maori village as well as Lake Rotorura itself!

xxxxxx