The weather was a bit drab for our one and only day in Wellington but we made the most of it by visiting the Te Papa museum, doing a little city walk and taking a tour of parliament. The tour around parliament was certainly different and made more memorable by having the opportunity to watch in on parliament itself.
By midday the following day, we had nearly driven the 353km to Taupo from Wellington. Before we arrived in Taupo we stopped off at Tirangi’s I-site to check out one or two things and before we knew it we had booked our skydive and were driving the clappers to catch our plane in Taupo. Emma was excited, scared and nervous all the way there and having made it by the skin of our teeth, we then found out that our jump had been put back till 3pm because of the weather – wish they could have told us that before I threw Fred round some pretty tight cliff hanger corners! Delayed once again at three, we decided to leave it until 11am the following day. A promising start to the next days weather, made us think everything was gonna be all rosy, so we started to get all nervous again. Unsurprisingly N.Z.’s long white cloud re-appeared, which meant more delays for the skydive, and us canceling what would have been the best thing either of us had ever done : - ( . Feeling pretty deflated that the weather and season had put an end to both our skydive and Tongariro Apline Crossing (possibly the world’s best one day hike), we checked into a nearby campsite to relax and take advantage of their spa and heated pools (32˚C and 40˚C). In the evening we met up with Jacque (our friend from Vietnam and Laos), who was down from Auckland to play in a squash tournament. Emma and I spent the evening drinking beer and wine from the club bar, whilst Jacque and his friends played their games – we looked so lazy but were inspired to may be take up squash when we return home. Having watched England draw abysmally at 6am in the morning, we checked out of our campsite and went to have a look at the Taupo Bungy site and Huke Falls. Having been denied our skydive and perhaps finding my balls finally, I stepped up to do N.Z.’s highest bungy water touch at 47m. Emma decided to skip the bungy and I suspect it wasn’t due to fear but rather for the Uggs she had her eye down the road for the similar price to the bungy!!! The jump was the most exhilarating and breathtaking (hence my silent fall) that I have ever done. Perched on the edge I felt surprising safe but wanting to chicken out. Knowing there was no refunds available I jumped (more like fell) anyway and experienced more than a water touch but rather a water dunk! Upsetting for Emma and me, Emma missed the whole thing as it all happened so quickly and the viewing platform was so far away. I was really upset for her but I’m sure a pair of Uggs will no doubt put a smile on her face.
The Huka Falls weren’t as amazing as we hoped but the opening of the Aratiatia Dam, which results in the rapids of the Aratiatia river, were pretty cool. Arriving in Rotorua a couple of days later, we checked into a motel early to treat ourselves, having freedom camped it the night before. Our motel room had a Jacuzzi/hot tub, spa, sky tv , free internet and mineral spa outside. This all might seem like a few basics but it was absolute bliss to Emma and I. In the evening we went for our Te Po – indigenous Maori experience. The night’s entertainment was pretty eventful, especially as I was chosen to be chief and represent the tourists for the evenings. The singing and dancing entertainment was very interactive, with ladies were asked up on stage first to perform Poi dancing. Emma was rubbish and I didn’t fair much better when asked to do the Haka with all the other chaps. Next in the evening came the Hangi, a Maori feast cooked utilizing the earths heat from the local rocks. As it was a buffet, I certainly made sure I did some damage with Emma making sure she got some value from the desert buffet table. To finish the night we were taken to watch the Geysers erupt just outside whilst drinking hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was rank but the geysers were pretty spectacular and capped off the night perfectly. Dragging ourselves away from our lovely motel, we checked out of the Gateway International Motel (International I think because the guy who owned it was Korean) and made for a stroll around the towns geothermal park, where we saw some boiling mud pools and steaming lakes. Not wanting to arrive in Auckland to soon we decided to check out Hamilton for the remainder of the day. Hamilton we found out isn’t the most riveting place in the world, so we moved on pretty quickly to find somewhere to freedom camp for our last night in Fred.
Having covered quite some distance the day before, our journey into Auckland didn’t take too long, however finding an opened air car park to accommodate Fred’s height that didn’t cost an arm and leg, did. Eventually having found somewhere to park we made our way straight to the Sky Tower for some terrific views of Auckland, which apparently on a fine day, you can see as far as 80kms. Later on in the day, we successfully circumnavigated ourselves to Jacque’s family house on the Northern Shore. Jacque and his parents were really hospitable and being there felt like being one step from home. We spent the evening at the local evening and it was great to catch up with Jacque by reliving our memories, having not seen each other for three months. The next day we took another walk around Auckland city centre, which made me think what San Fran might be like, but without the trams. The rest of the day we did a bit of window shopping and spent the evening in with Jacque and his parents. Jacque’s Mum cooked us a lovely home cooked meal and we watched New Zealand Maori vs England rugby game on the box. Unfortunately the English lost.
The next morning we dropped of Jacque at the bus stop, which looked more like a train station and headed for the Happy campers depot near the airport to drop off Fred. It was nice to catch up with Jacque and meet his super nice parents; we hope we can return the favour some day. Having successfully dropped off Fred without incurring any speeding penalties, dents or damages to the window screen, we caught our free ride to the airport. In the airport we saw the England rugby team from the night before and I made up an excuse to talk to Martin Johnson (Mr Happy!!!).The Fijian rugby team were also on our plane and at last we are on a way to hotter climates.
New Zealand is probably the best country we’ve ever been to and will definitely be back in the future.