Ok so I didn't really keep to my promise of writing again soon but never mind I am writing now! I guess when you are working the last thing you want to do is come home and sit in front of another computer. There have been some changes at work recently with my manager leaving and not working her notice and so I got asked to step up to her role....crazy times. But anyway I'm not here to write about work but more about our two week holiday up north

So it started with a flight to Auckland with two days there before picking up our campervan! We arrived safely and it wasn't quite the winterless north I expected, In fact it was freezing and I had to go buy some extra layers, any excuse to get some shopping in! We were staying quite centrally so spent the first day walking around and enjoying the wider variety of shops. The next day we caught a boat over to Rangitoto Island - an extinct volcanic crater. There is a lovely walk through the lava fields up to the top which took around 40 minutes to do. The weather was glorious and it probably ended up being one of the best days on the trip weather wise. We then headed back to the city and went up to the sky tower for cocktails and to watch the sunset over the city. It was definitely a good start to the trip.

On the Monday we picked up our campervan and then headed north to a tiny place called Tutukaka. If you blink you would actually miss it. We came here in order to do some snorkelling in and around the Poor Knight's Island. To be honest I thought the snorkelling was a bit lame but I do have high expectation after Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Possible as the water was only 15oC maybe I was concentrating more on keeping warm than what was beneath me!

We then drove north to 90 Mile beach before heading up to Cape Reigna. This was certainly a long drive with not an awful lot to see on the way. The Bay of Islands I am sure would have been nice if the weather had been better but that is the risk when you go in winter. Cape Reinga is the most northerly tip of New Zealand where the word Reinga comes from the Maori 'underworld' and it is believed that the cape is the point where the spirits of the dead enter the underworld. It was certainly windy up there!

The next few days consisted of a lot of driving over to the Coromandel Peninsula. Again the weather was bad and caused a lot of landslides which made for interesting driving. Unfortunately a lot of activities rely on the weather and therefore bad weather means you can't do very much. From here we went to stinky Rotorua where we managed to get through the entire museum without passing out from the sulphur fumes of the lake. It really is quite overwhelming but also pretty cool to see steam rising from random holes in the ground when you walk around the streets. It really is a very active place! In the evening we enjoyed a nice thermal spa which managed to heal all our aches and pains from sleeping in the campervan.

We woke the next to pretty much zero degree temperatures…took us ages to defrost and to get moving. The weather was unusually cold with snow even appearing in Wellington. As we headed to Taupo we realised that the weather there was possibly even colder and found ourselves a hostel instead of the campervan. On the way to Taupo we visited the Wai-o-Taupo geothermal park where the Lady Knox Geyser goes off every morning at 10:15 am (with a bit of help of some water softener!). The rest of the park was pretty impressive and just shows how active central north island is and what crazy things go on under our feet!

I thought Taupo was beautiful - a lovely lake surrounded by snow caped mountains but one of those places where you need a lot of money in order to do anything. We managed to do a leisurely boat cruise in the morning to visit some Maori carvings, which were well worth seeing. After here we drove to Waitomo Caves and stayed here a few days in order to do the ultimate black abyss trip. This consists of a 37 meter abseil, a flying fox, cruising down the underground river in big rubber rings and climbing waterfalls. All whilst looking at the beautiful glow worms. I was super nervous before hand but it was in fact perfectly fine and really enjoyable. They even provide you with hot chocolate and cake when you are down there.

So all in all it was an awesome trip and feel now I can tick the north island off my list. Would love to do the Coromandel Peninsula again but in nicer weather as I have heard it is amazing in summer.
We got back about two weeks ago and since then have been working to save money for our south island trip which is not until end of October. Before that we are off to Fiji in less than three weeks and can't wait for sun, sand, sea and cocktails.
xx