We like Hamilton immediately as we managed to find a belgian bar where we enjoyed a few beers and a meal before heading to the cinema. Have a non-sight-seeing day the next day and get loads of chores done, including getting the van looked at as it has been making a shrieking noise! Fortunately it was fixed easily and only cost 38 dollars (about 15 quid!). That night we were treating ourselves to some motel luxury so that we could see the Spurs West Brom game early the next morning. Have a nice night in in front of the telly with a takeaway pizza. Fortunately the early rise was worth it and we beat West Brom 2-1. Afterwards we head south to the Waitomo caves where we do a boat trip around the Glow Worm caves. Drive straight on to Taupo where we see a great sunset. Spend the day around Taupo first taking a walk up the Huka river past the spectacular Huka falls. Next was the Craters of the Moon to see the steaming thermal pools and bubbling mud. All very exciting. In the afternoon we head to the Geothermal Power Project to learn about the power of natural steam - Stu loved it! Next was the volcanic centre to learn about volcanoes and experience what an earthquake feels like. Finished off the day with a visit to the Taupo Hot Springs (conveniently located next to our campsite). More great weather today and we head to Tarangi just south of Lake Taupo. Take a wander along the Tongariro river and then after lunch we have our first ever fishing lesson! We leant how to do trout fly-fishing and even managed to catch a couple of fish each (okay so Stu caught 3 and I only got 2) which were too small to keep. Up bright and early the next morning to do our walk of the Tongariro crossing. Fortunately the weather looks promising. The walk is thought to be one of the best one-day walks in New Zealand and went through several volcanic craters and past the brilliantly coloured Emerald and Blue lakes. The 18km walk was pretty tough - the first half mostly uphill including a lot of climbing up over rocks and then the second half was basically three hours of walking downhill - which is harder than it sounds! We really enjoyed ourselves, but were very glad to get to the end! Fortunately our campsite had a spa bath which we enjoyed greatly on our return. We then treated ourselves to a dinner out before heading to bed totally exhausted. Wake up to another sunny day for our mammoth drive to New Plymouth. The drive was mainly on windy back roads (some unsealed) so was slow-going but we were treated to lots of great views on the way including seeing Mount Taranaki volcano. Go for a wander on the beach near to our campsite and have a game of frisbee. Unfortunately our plans of walking around Mount Taranaki are scuppered by the weather. Not only is the weather bad enough to not want to do a walk - you couldn't even see the thing! Spend the morning exploring New Plymouth before heading to Wanganui.