Hi everyone! Hope you are all good. Am back in Auckland now for a few days just chilling out. The bus trip was really cool and just what I needed - not having to worry about any driving, meeting new people (even if some of them were complete donuts!) and getting to see all the top spots in the North Island. The weather let us down for the first few days up in the Bay of Islands - bit of a shock to the system having come from Oz. My rain mac was worn on too many occasions for my liking! I'd forgotten how changeable the weather is in NZ. I went up to Cape Reinga (the most northern point of NZ) and saw the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet - you can see the waves from either side joining which is pretty cool. Drove up 90 mile beach (much like the highway on Fraser Island) and went sandboarding down some dunes which was wicked fun. I also got to see a Maori concert at a marae (a Maori meeting house) which was fascinating. The perfomance explained the Maori history and the impact of the Europeans arriving and was really moving. The marae is behind Treaty House at Waitangi which is where an agreement was signed in the 1800's between the Maori's and the Europeans. Over the next few days I did a downhill bike ride, went to a Kauri forest (native NZ trees) to see the 1500 year old Tane Mahuta tree. It is 51.5 metres tall, with a girth of 13.77 metres (basically absolutely massive!!), we drove around the Coromandel (v. stunning), snorkelled at Cathedral Cove and went to some hot pools. The group on the bus were ok, a lot of young ones (about 19), a couple from England (Pam & Nick), a nice Oz girl (Siobhan), two lovely NZ ladies (Pauline and Annette) and some girls from Manchester! We also got to see Rotorua (the stinky place which smells of eggs) and its geothermal activity. This was wicked - lots of bubbling mud pools, geysers (like in the pic) and lots of sulphur in the air making the egg smell. Went to Lake Taupo (NZ biggest lake - 600 sq km) and did part of the Tongariro crossing. We were due to do the full 7hr walk but the weather was so bad up there they would only let us do 4 hr return. You basically walk up and over a volcano so at the top you are very exposed and the wind really picks up. Even though we could only do 2hrs up and back we were frozen and the wind was unreal. It was a wicked walk though and I'm glad I did it. We got up to Ketetahi hut and then came back down. We had a few hours in Wellington so we went to the Tu Papa museum and just had lunch there. Seemed an ok place but not amazing. For the last 2 nights of the trip a few of us upgraded to cabins. It was sooooo cold at night and saved the bother of taking a tent down in the morning! To finish the trip I went black water rafting in the glow worm caves at Waitomo. Good fun, the glow worms were just like stars at night time. We went a long the water in rubber rings and there were a few jumps, slides. It was good fun! Although I was due off the bus in Auckland I got off a few hours early so I could head to a place called Raglan. Top surf spot - with the world's longest left hand point break. Annette (one of the lovely NZ ladies who had got off the bus a few days before) offered to drive me out there, which was very nice of her. I spent the last couple of days in an awesome hostel, in an awesome place - Raglan rocks! We had lovely weather and I went surfing, kayaking, we did a yoga class by the water, it was wicked!!!! So good in fact I am taking Zak back there next week. The trip did end on a slightly chaotic note though when I realised I had left my passport and flight tickets on the tour bus!!!! And then on Friday I lost my purse with all my cards in it!!!! My mum came to the rescue though and sorted it all out (thanks mum!!!). I'm off to see Dirty Dancing tonight at the theatre which I have heard is amazing. Zak arrives on Weds and we head to Raglan for a few days and then we'll be flying down to the South Island. Sorry if this has dragged on but just wanted to fill you in! Love to you all. Mel xxxxx