10 Jan. Arrived into Aukland at 4.30am so had the full day to see the sights of the city. Stayed at base hostel who organised a free city tour for me with Kiwi Experience which was great. Aukland is a lovely city and quite affluent although apparently other new Zealanders hate Auklanders and call them "Jafas" - Just another f*** Auklander!!. Our first stop was the harbour where we walked across the Aukland Harbour bridge along with four other guys who were doing a bungee jump from the bridge. The youngest was 11 year of age! Was very scary to watch and can't imagine I'll be throwing myself of a bridge any time soon. We then went to one of the 48 volcanoes that make up and surround the Aukland area for fantastic views of the city beach and harbour. Lunch was local fish (alright it was battered and came with chips but was still local fish!) which we ate as a picnic overlooking the city from another spectacular view point. Our guide gave us a little history lesson before dropping us back into the city.

11 Jan. Up early to start my Magic bus tour of New Zealand. We travelled north to Whangarei where we stopped and had a chance to see some nice waterfalls before heading further North to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. It was in Paihia on 6 Feb 1840 that the Waitangi treats was signed by the Maori chiefs and the British Government. Due to different interpretations of the treaty the question of what obligations the treaty of Wiitangi placed on each side has been the subject of contention ever since. The treaty house where the treaty was signed has now been turned into a museum which details the history of this event which I visited. Was very interesting and my first encounter with Maori culture. We rented bikes and cycled through Witangi park which had fantastic views of the islands and the bay. I cooked my first home cooked dinner in three months before heading out with the three other Irish guys (Louise, Chris and Kevin) I met on the bus!

12 Jan. Scenic route back to Aukland stopping off in Opononi which was named after the dolphin Opi who started to visit the harbour and perform tricks for the locals. The fishermen didn't like the dolphin eating all their fish though and poor Opi was found washed up on the beach with no known cause of death. There was also fabulous sand dunes here where some of the crew took part in sand boarding. We then drove through Waipoua forest, full of native trees including the Kauri trees. We stopped off at the oldest kauri tree in the world known as Tane Mahuta (lord of the forest) which is very important in Maori mythology. We later stopped at Matakohe where there was a Kauri museum detailing the history of the area and the felling of these impressive trees.

13 Jan. Leaving Aukland and heading south we took the scenic drive to Rotorua stopping at Thames, Paeroa, Te Aroha and The Shires Rest. Paeroa is famous for New Zealand's national soft drink - L&P (Lemon and Paeroa) and a giant L&P bottle is located in the middle of the town!! Many towns throughout New Zealand's north island try to make a name for themselves by their giant statues and so far we have seen a giant rubber boot, a giant carrot (Ohakune) as well as a town called Bulls where every shop plays on the name - the bins are recycabull, the bank is bankabull, the police station is constabull!

Our next stop was the Hobbiton movie set at the Shires Rest where you could take a tour of the Lord of the Rings movie set. While I didn't partake in the tour, the scenery and farmland was fantastic, and we got to feed the sheep and drink the genuine Lord of the Rings beer (1% - to ensure the actors didn't get too drunk!)Next stop was the ogo - zorbing with a different name! Mucho fun before landing at the very smelly Rotorua where we saw some black swans, the government gardens and all the old style buildings surrounding Lake Rotorua. Myself Louise, Kevin and Chris headed to explore the town and park coming across bubbling mud pools, steam rising from the ground and other geothermal activity.

Later that night myself and Louise headed to Tamaki Maori village where we had a traditional Hangi as well as experiencing the traditional Maori culture. Was an amazing experience. We were greeted by the chief and his Maori tribe in a traditional welcoming ceremony (Powhiri). This involved the warriors doing some intimidating gestures and movements with their Taiaha (weapon) until a Teka (peace offering) is offered and received by the visiting chiefs. We then entered the Maori village where the natives demonstrated different activities including games, poi twirling, weaponry displays and the haka and other chants showcasing the Maori culture. We were then lead to the Wharenue where we heard songs stories and watched dancing, all showing the culture of the Maori tribes. Dinner was from a Hangi, the meat and vegetables had been under the earth on hot rocks for over three hours. Earth is piled over everything to keep the heat inside the earth oven. Dinner and dessert was amazing. We blessed the food with a "Karakia" or prayer before starting and finished the evening with a Poroporoaki (closing ceremony) which involved more Maori singing and dancing. Very good

14 Jan. Our first stop of the day was at Huka Falls before arriving at Taupo. Taupo is the north islands adventure capital and has bungee jumping, skydiving, jet rides etc. I jumped out of a plane!!!!!!! I convinced Chris and Louise to join me on my skydive and the three of us were picked up and brought to the skydiving centre. I was never so excited and scared all at once. I decided to do the highest jump (15000 ft) and we got all kitted out with suits, harnesses and a life jacket (just in case we dived right into the lake!!!) There were six of us skydiving together and we all squeezed into the plane. The guys who were jumping at 12,000 jumped first and I was given oxygen as we were going up higher in the plane which in itself was very cool. I started panicking just as we were about to jump and my tandem master had to prey my hands free from the airplane! Then we jumped and it was fantastic!! There are no words to describe the feeling of free falling through the sky, through the clouds and then being pulled back up when the parachute opened. The views below were spectacular flying over Lake Taupo, volcanoes, snow capped mountains, green farmland below and we also had views of both sides of the north island. We landed safely and picked up our pics, dvd and t-shirt before leaving on a complete adrenalin high. I felt drunk. Was such an amazing experience. We went to the local Irish bar in Taupo, Mulligans to celebrate that night.

15 Jan. We made our way from Taupo to National park stopping off at the Waitomo glow worm caves on the way. We really wanted to do black water rafting in the glow worm caves but unfortunately all tours for the day were booked up so we took a walking tour through the caves instead. The caves were cool, 30 million years old with lots of stalactites, stalagmites and glow worms which lit up the roof of the caves. From here we passed through the sheep shearing capital of the world - Te Kuiti before arriving at Tongariro National park. We visited the Tawhai waterfalls where Kevin jumped from the top of the falls to the bottom without being killed! Our hostel was in the "town" of National Park - a town which had a hostel, a bar and a petrol station, deep in the country side - all you want really! We had a BBQ and a few drinks in the bar next door before bed.

16 Jan. Today I undertook the full day Tongariro Alpine crossing walk - which is commonly known as New Zealand's best one day hike. The walk is through the middle of an active volcano field and passes Mount Doom, the famous mountain in Lord of the Rings. While the walk was of a moderate level the weather conditions were terrible when we did it. The wind nearly blew us off the top of the volcano and the rain, sleet and snow as well as the fog left visibility at the top of the volcano at zero, not to mention the below zero temperatures, all of which was quite frightening. However the views we came across once we passed the summit were spectacular. Red crater, green/blue lakes, black volcanic rocks, waterfalls and streams, green fields, mountains, volcanoes and jungle terrain. The changing landscapes were amazing and although sore at the end of the hike, very glad I did it!

17 Jan. We headed south to Wellington today before taking mini tour of the city. The weather was fantastic and the city looked amazing. We drove around the harbour before stopping at the parliament buildings "the beehive" for some pictures. We then climbed up to the summit of Mount Victoria for some amazing 360 degree views of Wellington, seeing the harbour, the city and the mountains which surround the city. After checking into my hostel, myself and Kate took a walk around the city and harbour and I headed into the Te Papa museum for the afternoon. The museum was huge and you would need more than a few hours to do it justice. My favourite exhibits were on level 4 showing the history of the people including European immigrants and the Maori people. Well worth a visit. Myself and Kate headed out for our free meal and a few drinks that night to finish our tour of the north island on a high. Wellington is lovely and I am sorry I didn't spend another night there to explore it further.