Well, Wellingtons were needed in Wellington - at least for the first day. Dave and Elaine were superb hosts and we really enjoyed our break from 'Trannie'. Just sorry we couldn't have stayed longer. We did a whirlwind tour of Wellington - Mt. Victoria, the Parliament Building, cable car, Botanic Gardens, Te Papa (an awesome museum where we 'experienced' an earthquake) and Cuba Street. We were also driven around all the beautiful bays by Dave and sampled the local fare!! Then we left Wellington and Trannie tackled the Rimutaka pass. I don't think I will ever get used to these roads. The sheer heights we climbed to, and the sheer drops we passed are etched on my brain forever!

Then we had our only unsettling experience so far. We parked up for the night on a peaceful campsite with loads of permanent campers who were very friendly and helpful, especially when it came to using the tumble dryer where the whole door had to be replaced before it would start! We were sitting planning the next day when two cars sped in and parked next to each other near the exit. It was only when we heard a squeal of tyres and saw one car driving off at speed with a man clinging on through the window, his legs dangling in the air, that we realised something was not as it should be!

The rest of our experiences have all been totally positive, so much so that this blog is not going to do justice to what we have seen and done. Bob described it as 'scenery overload' and it is quite right. At several points we have just looked at each other and thought 'It can't get any better than this!' but then it does!! You run out of superlatives to describe it all and, in fact, there is no way of describing the incredible beauty and scale of the scenery. I have never seen so many shades of green, or so many sheep, or so many cows, or so many trees! I have never climbed so many steep hills, or gone round so many hairpin bends, or seen so many gorgeous beaches. I could go on but you get my drift! And then you meet someone who tells you that you should come back in the summer when the trees are all in leaf and the flowers are out in bloom because it's beautiful then!!! As if it isn't now??!!

However, four places in particular have really blown us away and deserve a mention. The first is Te Mata, a scenic lookout in Hastings, which was so high that the paragliders were sometimes below us! Mountain bike enthusiasts were throwing themselves down tracks, at speed, that I personally would not have liked to walk down and families were out walking with their kids along tracks with sheer drops - parents and kids did not seem to be worried, but I was, just watching them!!

Then we went off-track on private ground to Cape Kidnappers. This was meant to be a group tour but Bob and I were the only ones on it. We were chauffeured along a gravel track, up steep hills and down even steeper. At one point our guide told me not to look, but that just makes you look anyway. I wish I hadn't, we were inches from a drop that was so sheer I couldn't even see the bottom. Then we finally arrived at the plateau peak, face to face with thousands of nesting gannets. The colony was one of four in the area, huge and noisy, but fascinating with nest-building and mating going on. The males were bringing in seaweed for the nests and they were passing right by our ears! We also spotted a couple of eggs, the first laid this year! I have to say that the trip was first class and we learnt an awful lot, not just about the gannets, but about the local wildlife and conservation, particularly about the endangered kiwis.

Next highlight was St. Mary's Church, Tikitiki. We stopped, hoping to get a look inside as it was a Sunday but, as we drew up, the reverend saw us and welcomed us. When he found out we were from England he introduced us to Jane, from England, whom he had married to his cousin the day before! He then showed us around his church, which was stunning. He was Maori, but practising Christianity, so the whole church was decorated with Maori carvings and weavings. He explained how the two cultures were linked. Two NZ soldiers, cousins, from the village were commemorated in the stained glass window, as having served and been lost in WW1. We learnt about the meanings of the Maori motifs and felt so honoured to have been shown around in such a way. Jane and her new husband actually stood and waved us goodbye!

And then for our biggest adventure so far. We decided to go out to the most easterly place in NZ, the furthest we could possibly get from home. The road quickly degenerated into a gravel track which, at places, had partly fallen into the sea and, at other places, was partly covered in rock falls. However, there were stunning views along the way, as usual. We eventually reached the East Cape lighthouse, or rather the path up to it! 800 steps later, 154 metres higher, an out of breath Bob and I reached the lighthouse. The 360 degree views made it all worthwhile and we were joined briefly by a young French guy - we took his photo and he took ours! Wow, what an adventure, so far from home!! We made it back down the 800 steps a lot quicker but, next day, our calf muscles let us know they were not happy!

It is weird that this blog seems quite short, although we have done so much. The truth is that you really do run out of words to describe it all. And then, when you do try to describe it, you just can't do it justice. Even the photos don't really show the height, depth, distance etc so I am finding it really hard to portray this place as it should be! My best advice would be to come and visit and see for yourselves!

There has, however, been an enduring theme to our time in NZ so far. We are having trouble pronouncing the place names, probably because most are of Maori origin. Most seem to start with Wh (pronounced Fu in some dialects and Wh in others) and end in ane or ewa or ata, such as Whakatane, Whakarewarewa, , Whangamata or the longest name we have come across - Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao! So Bob and I have given up and come up with our own place name for all those that we can't pronounce - Wherethef***arewe!

And so on to Rotorua, our next adventure and next blog!