Hellooo all you amazing peeps, it's been a while! 'Tis Em here. :)
On Thursday 10th June, we were up at the crack of dawn to catch a 6am bus to complete the infamous Tangariro Crossing in Taupo.: also the location of 'Mount Doom' and much of the Lord of The Rings filming! We had a 45-min journey to 'base camp' led by Sarah, our sparky guide. Usually, the 18k walk through the valley and over various summits, is completed without guidance. However as the crossing had been closed for several days due to bad weather, we had Sarah, a mountain-savvy, sparky character, to lead us. Laden with hats, gloves, crampons, waterproofs and what felt like several kgs of chocolate, we set off at about 7am through incessant mist and drizzle. The weather slowly deteriorated as the day went on, and we could see little but mist and (yes!) snow around us, and tripped and tumbled up to the Soda Springs waterfall. At first the snow was just ankle deep but the further up and off the beaten track we climbed, the deeper it became - and the colder! By the time we stopped for lunch at the summit of one of the crossing peaks, the snow was between our knees and thighs in places. We even tramped (as the Kiwis call it!) across a frozen lake without knowing it! After reaching the South Crater of the volcano (which last erupted 25 years ago...) the size of 5 football pitches, Sarah made the decision to turn back the way we came, as we were only 2/3 of the way and the weather was only worsening. It was -5 and the wind was very bitter: Sarah said that in 6 winters of guiding the crossing, she had never experienced such terrible weather (typical!). So, a snowball fight, snowman and teaching some people (who'd never seen snow before as they were Aussies) how to do a snow angel later, we made our way back through the wind, the sleet and the mist.
However, to make our descent more interesting, Sarah decided to take us 'off-roading' directly down the mountain-side (which she had never done before!) walking and falling through snow up to our waists the whole way down! We had a hilarious and awesome afternoon whizzing down the steepest bits on our bottoms, only to end up stuck at some awkward angle wedged deep in the snow awaiting rescue!
The Kiwi sense of fun is contagious and makes even the worst situations really exciting!
All in all, we tramped 17k and to a height of 1886m (6224 ft - the highest Steph & I have ever climbed ourselves) and were all rewarded with a free can of Sprite and a bag of chips on the way back, as well as a free repeat crossing later in our trip due to the terrible weather - sweet as! :)

On Friday 11th, we arrived in Rotoroa, where it constantly pongs of sulphur! However despite the bus journey being the shortest yet - just 1 hour - we endured the worst bus driver ever! After making a big speech at the beginning about respecting everyone's opinions, he ended up trying to throw a poor German girl off the bus as she said that she didn't like his music! He had played a Maori song (which didn't sound like one at all and anyway, his music WAS rubbish) and took great offence to her comment, claiming that she was disrespecting his ancestors (even though his family were Scottish...). He then said (on the microphone) that she was a stupid German and proceeded to make public racist comments about several nationalities. Despite two US girls trying to defend her and explaining that it was only a song, he only got worse for the entire journey. The poor girl was in tears! He also commented about the number of Asian people living in New Zealand and only asked one Chinese girl (who is English) for her bus ticket and noone else ... the cheek! To polish the performance off, he then loudly told us all where to go, and claimed that he didn't care what any of us thought, that he wouldn't tell us antyhing about Roratua now as the day had been ruined, and that none of us respect the Maori culture ... a complete and utter lie, especially as all Kiwis and travellers respect them as the original residents of the country, and they are very characterful and proud people. Such a shame ...
At 12:30 that day, Steph went white water rafting on a grade 3 river (they range from 1-5, 5 being the toughest and scariest). I chickened out as the leaflet alone made me feel queasy, considering that it featured a grade 5, 7 metre-high waterfall!! She had a whale of a time and got very wet. Only the guide fell out when the raft went right under the water at the base of the waterfall!!
That evening, we went to a Tomari Maori evening, a traditional show depicting the life of a Maori tribe and their culture. These days, all Maoris are westernised so no tribes exist, but this group gave a very convincing and insightful exhibition of dance, stories, song, dress houses, food and tools. I was also rather taken by the 'Chief' Maori - he could have fought for me any day! :D They were covered in tattooes, barefoot and wearing very little despite the cold. They even cooked us a traditionally-roasted meal of both traditional Maori food and modern touches (somehow, I'm not sure they could have created a pavlova all those hundreds of years ago by burying it underground and covering it with hot stones, water and dirt...!). Before we ate, we said a Maori prayer to give thanks to everyone and everything that had made the meal possible: from the River Gods to the people who actually grew and prepared the food. Steph vulunteered to take part in a Maori stick game designed to sharpen warrior's senses, reflexes and battle skills: she came a worthy 2nd! We took lots of photos and videos, but were informed that we could not laugh or smile at the introductory male challenges, dances and songs at the beginning, as it would be seen as disrespectful and an invitation for battle! The Maoris are obviously very proud people who are still in touch with their heritage, ancestors and culture: it's so interesting! Right at the start, 2 'chiefs' from our 'tribe' were selected and had to face particular challenges! The rest of us had to follow behind them and sit before them all evening. We were thoroughly well looked after, with unbeatable hospitality; particularly our hilarious Maori bus driver who sang songs in his native words but could speak over 20 language and sang a song for each of the different nationalities on board the bus (Australian, English, American, Singapore, Irish, Canadian...). He also had a great talent for remembering each of our names after only being told them once - not bad considering there were 40 of us! We now want to join the Maori dynasty.

On Saturday 12th, Steph and I went on the Luge (a Gondola trip up to a whizzy sledge-like ride on a manmade track down the hillside) still in Rotorua. Yet another example of the Maori's/Kiwi's genersous nature is that we completely missed our stop, but the driver noticed and offered to go back to save us a long walk - bless! There are 3 types of luge: the scenic, slower ride, the intermediate, and the advanced. We got absolutely soaked but it was brilliant flying round sharp, uneven corners and through tunnels! We had a, er, nap in the afternoon after getting some more provisions and a cheeky MacDonald's (Steph, that is!). Stephanie also had fun in the hostel's outside pool with a couple of people that we met there. In the evening we played cards (we have a new NZ pack to add to the collection!) and went to watch the Ireland VS All Blacks (you should be proud of us, dad!) at the only Irish pub around, although admittedly by the time we found it, the game had ended ... We saw he beginning of the England VS Aussie match though :)

On Sunday 13th, we journied to the biggest city in New Zealand, which contains 1.4 million people (compared to the mere 4 million in the entire country!). There are only 8 universities in NZ and the biggest one is situated here. We stopped at Matamata, aka Hobbiton, for some piccies by the 'Hobbiton' sign (the most photographed object in NZ) and statue of Gollum (yet again, in the rain). With some people from our dorm; Sue, Will and Reggie; we caught a short ferry ride to Devonport, where we hiked directly up Mount Victoria ... which is, admittedly, a mere hill and 360 degree look-out spot. ;) In Devonport, I bought ... a book! I can't tell you how excited I was as I haven't read in neatrly 2 months! I literally saw a 2nd hand bookshop, made a dash for the door, and emerged 30 seconds later with the 1st Twilight book - not bad! Back at the hostel, we met a guy from our first bus and had a great catch-up before some cheeky drinking games in our room (where alcohol is strictly prohibited) and later going out to the hostel bar - Globe Bar - for some pool and a drink or two with our friends there.

After 2 1/2 hours sleep (never again) Monday 14th saw Stephanie's very first hangover ... we sadly had to leave our Auckland roomies for the Bay of Islands and, specifically,a coastal town calles Paihia. It is BEAUTIFUL here: all coast, trees and endless rolling hills with lots of livestock. After a much-needed coffee (or two) the bus passed one farmer's attempt to entice visitors to see his sheep-shearing business ... aka bright pink neon-painted sheep! It was a sight ... Stephanie and I spent much of the day recovering from the previous night. When speaking of the next day's sand-boarding, our driver Jarrod stated 'good fun, good speed, a bit of danger - never hurt anyone!' - which seems to be the Kiwi motto for everything, methinks!

Today was a long day trip, but you'll have to wait to hear about that soon! :)

Love you all - BIG hugs to mum and family!! :) Until next time .....

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