On the way to Rotorua we stopped at Karangahake Scenic Reserve where we did a 30 minute walk around. There were 2 swing bridges that we had to cross and a one kilometre railway tunnel that we followed through the sides of the cliffs. It was so dark inside that our bus driver recommended taking a torch but our wind-up ones were not worth having as they were running out of power so we were walking in pitch black.. it was quite scary not knowing where to walk! When ...

On the way to Mercury Bay our bus driver took us to Mount Eden in Auckland where you can get 360 degree views of the city. It was a really clear day so the views were amazing. You could see for miles and Auckland suddenly looked bigger than we realised! In New Zealand there is alot of driving between each destination so to break it all up the Kiwi bus takes you to some lovely spots so we can appreciate New Zealand for what it is.. On the way to Mercury Bay we w...

Paihia, also known as the Bay of Islands is about 4 hours north of Auckland and our first stop on the Kiwi Experience. We got there at about 12:30pm and booked ourselves onto a boat trip where we were going to see some of the sights out on the waters and see some dolphins. The boat trip started at 1:45 and would last about 3 hours. The first stop was a small island called Russell. We didnt get off the boat, we were just picking up a few more people who were doi...

We arrived in Auckland to Nikki. Nikki left for New Zealand a couple of months after us and is living with her aunti and uncle who have kindly allowed Vicky and I to stay for a few nights. It was really weird to be seeing someone from home on the otherside of the world. She drove us to the house which is about 45 mins outside of Auckland, in a place called Northshore. As we were driving it was obvious how different New Zealand is to Australia. Its very hilly and ...