Hello everyone!!! I'm in Wellington at the moment so have come to the end of touring the North Island. I flew into Auckland and as it was absolutley chucking it down i decided to leave the next day. I went up to a place called Pahia in the Bay of Islands where the weather is always nice. I took a boat out to see dolphins, there was a baby one that kept coming over to the boat to be nosey-so cute. Then we (there's me and 5 other girls travelling together) went to Hahei where we dug our own hot pool on Hot Water beach. There's a hot spring at the top of the cliff so you have to find where it has trickled down, some spots were too hot to even dip your toe in-and its all natural. We also watched the rugby in the firestation that night, we were the only brits cheering the Lions on and the locals were crazy fans of the All Blacks, good fun though!! After that we travelled to Raglan which has the best surf in New Zealand. We watched the surfers for a while, went for a walk along the beach, had a sauna and chilled out in the lodge we were staying in at the top of the hills. We went to Waitomo caves where they have loads of gloworms, you float down on a raft and there they are above your head on the roof of the caves-little green things, it was really good to see. Then we went to Rotorua where we saw geothermal pools and geysers, spent the evening with a traditional Maori family who cooked us a traditional dinner and told us about their culture. The dinner was a broth with potatoes, veg and pork bits in. Youre supposed to suck the bones dry-i didnt like it too much. Briony, Lisa and me had a go on the Zorb aswell. We did a wet one together where all three of us dive into a massive ball, get hot water chucked in with us and then get rolled down the hill. It produced many giggles, as soon as we started to roll we were all arms and legs stuck to the side of the ball not being able to move, just like a water slide really only better. Then to Taupo where they have the cheapest skydiving in NZ. Yep, i did one and it was the best thing ever. I tandem jumped from 12000ft, and i was the first one out of the plane. It was quite nerve wracking going up and just getting higher and higher but as soon as we had jumped it was fine. Everything went calm and quiet and you're just falling into clouds. The freefall part lasts for 45 seconds but feels longer when you're up there. You can see for miles, such awesome views and the biggest rush. I would definately do one again. I got the DVD of it so i can show you all. Last night we stayed in a hotel in Tongariro National Park up in the mountains, again lovely views and walks and again more relaxing in the spa. We are just in Wellington for the night, in the morning we are catching the ferry to the south island to do lots more fun things. Catch up soon, love to you all, hope you are well. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx