Hello!

We have been very busy in New Zealand since we last wrote a blog. After relaxing at lake Wanaka we drove north-west to Fox Glacier. In this small but pretty tourist village we booked a glacier hike for the following day. Fox Glacier is the longest glacier in the south island. We were lucky, the weather was perfect and we spent almost 2 hours walking around on the ice with crampons. It was a really fun morning. From here we had a long drive to Kaikoura on the east coast. We had booked onto a whale watching trip, however, because of the 80kph winds the trip was cancelled two days in a row. It was a shame to miss out on seeing the many species of whales which live in the waters around this area. However, we had an interesting time in the town anyway. There were plenty of shops to keep Olivia amused and there were several large seal colonies on the rocky beaches. Simon also had a close shave with the hair trimmers one evening care of Olivia...!

After a dissapointingly windy time in Kaikoura we had to abandon our attemps at whale watching in order to drive to Picton to catch the ferry to Wellington in the north island. However, during the ferry crossing we saw pods of dolphins around the Wellington bay so we didnt miss out on all marine life! We had to stay in Wellington for a few days to get our Cuban visas and to get the laptop fixed after it got a nasty virus. Luckily all of our photos and music were backed up so no lasting damage was caused. Wellington itself was a very nice city and the afternoon we spent at Te Papa (the National museum) was interesting. We then headed north to Tongariro National Park where there are three active volcanoes. We embarked on a day trek through the park and climbed Mt Ngauruhoe, the youngest and best looking volcano. This volcano starred in the Lord of the Rings as Mt Doom. It was probably the most mentally and physicaly challenging trek we have done. The sides of the mountain were incredibly steep and the loose rock on sand made making any progress very difficult. It was very demoralising. We realised after a while that the best way up was to climb the rocks to the side of the volcano. These rocks were very sharp and not secure but we eventually made it to the summit. The view was spectacular and the crater was impressive. Because it was a active volcano there were numerous vents where hot gas was being emmited. There was also still some snow around the top. It was very satisfying to sit on the top if the crater and enjoy a custard cream. How many people can say they have done that? The way down was more scary than going up. It was hard work and nerve racking at some points but we made it down in one piece.

After our climb we had a day off in Taupo and drove to Rotorua to visit the geysers. We went to Te Puia which houses a few geysers and a thermal village. Apart from the constant smell of bad eggs, the day was very nice. We were also fortunate enough to stay at a campsite which was next to the hot water beach of Lake Rotorua. We borrowed a spade and only had to dig down a couple of feet before hitting piping hot water. It was quite surreal. We also made full use of the campsites thermal heated mineral baths. We only had a fews days left with the campervan when we headed west to Waitomo Caves. We visited three caves and saw hundreds of glow worms. We then headed to Auckland yesterday where we returned our campervan. We really enjoyed staying and driving around New Zealand in the campervan and luckily we didnt encounter any of the problems we had with its Australian cousin!

New Zealand has unquestionably been our favourite country so far. There is so much to see and do here. We have done many things but could quite happily stay for much longer!