It was only a short one hour drive from Taupo to Rotorua, which was a real bonus after so many long bus journeys. This meant I had the whole afternoon just to relax and have some time to myself for a change.I went for a walk around the town, which permanently has a strong sulphur odour thanks to the thermal areas it is built upon. I went down to the lakeside to get a closer look at some of the smoking, bubbling?geisers and mud pools?and unfortunately more than a ...

The drive from Wellington to Taupo was a pretty long one by New Zealand standards, as nowhere is really very far. But the six hours gave me plenty of time to contemplate the day ahead - much as I was trying to ignore it...For some reason I had a temporary lapse of sanity during this part of the trip - remember my comment about the bungy jumping - no way never ever, not me. Well no I didn't do a bungy?jump, but?despite my morbid fear of heights, so much in fac...

Thanks to some changes in the bus timetables I only had one day to spend in Wellington rather than the two I'd planned. But the sudden change in plans just made sure I was up bright and early to make the most of the day.My first destination was the cable car (looked more like a tram to me!) to ride up to the top of the city for great views and a stroll through the botanic gardens (yes, another botanic gardens I can tick off my list!). I was lucky as the morni...

After leaving Queenstown I travelled back north with a quick overnight stop in Christchurch before stopping in Kaikora. On the way we crossed back over the Southern Alps for the final time, this time via the Lindis Pass, with a perfect setting for lunch overlooking the aqua blue Lake Pukaki.The next day we arrived in Kaikora by lunchtime to find the sun shining and it was even warm enough to reintroduce my legs to the world and get my shorts back out. After admir...

After my relaxing evening first stop the next day was a bizarre place called Puzzling World. Basically it has four rooms?full of illusions to play tricks on the senses and make for some great photos. It also has the world's only three dimensional maze - a real back to your childhood experience for a few hours.Then on the way into Queenstown we stopped at Kawarau Bridge for some brave souls to bungy 47m into the river below. To prolong their agony a bit furthe...