I arrived in new Zealand after a 13hr flight which was no problem after my 32hr bus ride in south America. I caught the bus from outside the terminal which took me to the center of Auckland city. I could see straight away that new Zealand was going to be very different from what i had grown used to over the last four and half months in south America, but i also thought that it was very much the same as the UK in so many ways. Like the bus's were run by stage coach, the cafes were selling full English breakfasts, there were pubs on every road. This is not a good thing for me as i wanted to travel to get away from the English way of life, but it looked as though i found it on the other side of the world. With this said i did like Auckland for its harbor area and the sky tower gave a great birds eye view over the whole city. I only stayed in Auckland for three days before moving hiring a car and driving southwards to lake Taupo in the center of the north island. The drive down was interesting but only for the first 2hrs, as it became clear that every town i drove through on route 1, all looked the same. The country side was nice but after seeing the patagonia it all just seemed a bit of a anticlimax. I arrived in Taupo just as the sun was setting and the sky was on fire and made some amazing reflections on the great lake. There were campers all along the banks of Taupo and there must have been more than three hundred motels surrounding these. I thought that this just made the area look like one big tourist trap. So i decided to keep driving further down on route 1 and onto the ski resort of Whakapapa. This took another 4hours of driving along mountain roads and through a national park. I arrived at Whakapapa around 10 that night, and found out that the town can not be called town at all, as it consisted of only two hotels and two camp sites, and nothing more. I checked into one of the hotels which had a backpackers section that offered budget accommodation.

The next day i drove up to the ski lifts on Mt Ruapehu, although there was no snow i wanted to get a sight of some slopes in New Zealand. I took a walk that winds down through the national park called Tongariro, the walk was very easy and took just 2 hrs. There was not a great deal to see along the way other than some flowers, but i see no wildlife. I then drove back up to Auckland via a different route which took me up the east coast. I was back in the city just for one night before i caught a virgin blue flight down to the south island and onto Christchurch. The temperature on the south island was considerably cooler than that of the north and it was once again time to put the ski jacket on. There was a bus from the airport to the city center which cost 12 bucks. On this bus i met a German guy that was dressed in traditional German clothing, which was a white shirt, leather vest brown cords and a tall hat. He also just carried a small bag that was made up of just a thin cloth rapped around and tied into a knot. He told me that he was traveling for four years and that he has to do it this way as he is a traditional builder .He then told me that it is a dying trade but there are a few that still does as he does and travel to several locations around the world to learn different methods of building. They do this and must not earn any money but can work for accommodation, also they must not return home until the four years were up, even if there was a death in their family. But once they return they are graded as superior craftsman. I thought that i had may have trouble finding a place to stay that night as it was late, but it would have been nothing compared to his search. I found a bed at the base backpacker which was located on the main square in the town and opposite the cathedral, It was a lively hostel with a large bar that many of the locals also visited. I met a group of Kiwis here and a lad from Manchester. We all went out that night to a club just around the corner,which had a pool comp on that night. I entered and won, beating 15 opponents. I received a drinks voucher worth 100 bucks which was most welcome. I stayed there just for two nights and decided to move further south to the ski resort of Queenstown. I had a stroke of luck hen trying to hirer a car to drive down there, the hire company told me that they had a car they wanted to be returned down to Queenstown. So because of this they would waiver the hire cost and all i had to pay was the minimum insurance cost plus the fuel i use. This meant i got the car for just 15 bucks. The drive was easy and took just over six hours with very little other traffic on the roads.

Queestown is the center for the adrenaline junkies who come here to try one of the many sports here. I opted to take the plunge literally and on the second day there i jumped out of a cable car 134m up above a river doing the third highest bungy in the world. It was one of the best feeling in the world to throw yourself out and free fall to the ground at unbelievable speed, and i wanted to do it again straight after if it was not for the cost i would have.

Queestown has some great hikes into the mountains for all levels. I took one that was five hours long and gave me great views over the town and the lake. I also visited the wildlife reserve there, which had many indigenous species like the kiwi. This is only small but well worth it as there is little chance to see these animals in their natural habitat.

The town at night in my opinion is spoiled by the amount of young gap year students, mainly from England, that treated the place like they do many of the towns back home. There was screaming, fighting, smashing bottles and some being sick outside the bars. It really was like being back home. For me if this could be resolved the town would be great and i would have stayed for a lot longer, but it was that way and i was not after this in my travels. so i stayed here just for 3 days before catching a bus back to Christchurch and then a flight to Auckland.

I stayed another 2 nights in the city and decided that i had enough of the kiwi experience. I think that i will have to return there but coming straight from south America where i was filled with adrenaline everyday, partly because there is such a edge to the whole of this continent, but also because the sites that i see there i think will be hard to beat. Which is where i think i had a problem with New Zealand, the country is very pretty and has some amazing sites to see, but it just did not compare. Also it was in between seasons which also did not help.