Left at 7:15 am to go to the ferry a for the crossing from the north to the south island arriving at Picton.The journey across Cook straight was extremely rough, and people were falling like flies, lying on the floor trying to cope with the seasickness. Fortunately my sealegs were good and no problem. I enjoyed the beauty of both islands at once, including the Kaikoura mountain ranges. The rolling waves (about 10-12ft) settled once we got into the small islands t...

Off at 8am for the trip from Rotorua to Wellington. It was an all day ride as we passed Taupo with its unusual volcanic geography, large tracts of planttion pine forest, and the large Wairakei Geeothermal Power Station. We travelled along the eastern edge of Lake Taupo to Turangi, where the landscape changed yet again to pastoral with many streams. We passed through Tongariro National Park where after a long desert road, we saw the sites of inactive volcanoes. ...

The bus arrived at 7am and we were off to Te Puia, that is a thermal wonderland. Rotorua is world famous for its geothermal hotspots through the town, where there are spouting geysers, acid smelling mud pools bubbling and belching, and the scent of sulpher. It is really quite amazing to see, steam coming out of hotspots is people's back yards, as well as the some sewers, and of course large pools where one can enjoy a hot spring soak!! At Te Puia we were shown ar...

After flying from Wellington to Auckland, Ithe previous night, settled in my hotel and readied myself for the start of my bus tour. Didn,t see much of Auckland except from the air, which of course looked beautiful from 33,000 ft upwards!!! Was picked up at 7am, and rambled through the farmland along the main river of Waikato. It is interesting to note that the cattle business is now #1 export in NZ, followed by timber and then sheep. With the decline of the shee...

As Rosie was leaving for Sydney, I got a Hotel for one night downtown Wellington on Cuba Street, which is the artsy area. No cars allowed on the street, which was full of funky shopes, galleries, cafes, etc., with an ecclectic group of people also. Was fun to just wander, and browse in the stores, as had not had an opportunity to do that yet. Took the cable car to the top of the mountain surrounding the city and had a wonderful view of the harbour. Then the sk...