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right apologies to the family for the belated blog, kinda thought i had updated this in rotorua but it looks like i didn't, sorry!so here we go ,there's a lot of s*** to write down so i will be brief on the matters cos i cant afford to go into total detail, but you'll get the full details via stories and pics when i come home!
weds 29th (whitianga)- firstly it was to the kiwi office and then to mt eden before we left auckalnd to go down the north island ,already been to mt eden so the views were nowt special but it meant there was a quick stop before we headed over to Thames for our lunch stop. the guys on the bus are pretty cool, maj from the paihia trip but a few more too- total of 13 and we all get on well too :-), after lunch it was towards hot water beach, where we dug our own spa pool and cooked some mussels next too us. it was scary how hot it could be in one part and how cold it was only 18inches away. there was time for a walk in cathedral cove and thru the forests before the sun went down adn we get into whitianga (mercury bay) for the first stop of the trip. in the eve there was boozing, quizzes and a drinkin games before we all really bonded and did numerous (and very bad) karoake at some local bar! there was much fun to be had, esp as we played ghost (hide n seek) till the very early hours!
thurs 30th (rotorua)- the american girls decided to take it in turns for the back seat cos they were feelin precious, but generally it was a pretty ok morning for the amount we drank! there was a great walk at Karangatke gorge, inc a 1.3mile tunel, and then after the walk we had a lil picnic next to the river. the trip into rotorua was only a short trip and there was time for a hydrozorb (some lewis and mum but it was necessary!) in fact there was a hydro threesome, which meant me, john and simon were a little closer after the trip! the boys walked round rotorua in the afternoon and then in the eve we all headed over to Tamaki tours hq where we were treated to a maori experience, which was wicked and i'm sure the grandparents can go into a lot more detail and do it more justice than i can over the web. but the whole eve was amazing, gave amazing insight to the maori way of life and soemthing i'm remember for a while. back in rotorua the lava bar was opening again so it was a big night there, with many drinks drank and much fun! by 4 we were all tired so we talked a bit too loud in the room and the girls heard too much cos we were talkin about them! oops!
fri 31st-(waitomo) all up spiritly for the amount of alcohol drank and the chronic lack of sleep but the bus proved ample time to sleep! there was a quick trip around te puia which is the geyser and thermal pool park just outside rotorua, which was cool. there were a few thermal pools with a choice smell and a big geyser which was bowing but didnt explode when we were there. we headed onto waitomo for some balck water rafting...wasnt what i expected but totally better than what i was expecting. there was little rafting involved and it was more canyoning. there was a 100ft abseil to start, then a flying fox across the gorge, followed by some tubing along the river- where we saw loads of little glow worms (which are actually maggots with shiny s***!) but it was really impressive and looked like the starry sky. there was a little break to warm ourselved up and then we could either body raft or walk along the cave till we got to some waterfalls (guess which i did?!)the finale was to climb up two waterfalls and out into the real world again...the whole experience was brill and prob one of the best in terms of money etc. at the end we wamred up with a shower, and hot bagels n soup. back to the hostel and the driinking games (with a goon cocktail) began...by 9.30 me, mangee (driver) john and rich were pretty pissed and by the time the rest of the group joined in we were wasted! john was sick and me n rich were very close. happy days and by the end of the night we all were a state!
sat 1st (taupo)- we started earlier today than planned but its still nothing compared to australia! there was a stop at the aruna cave formations and to see some natural caves and stuff etc. ok. but then we went to a shearing shed...for rabbits! these things were really fluffy and there was so much hair on them it was unreal. it looked like it was on a rack and being toruted but we were told that it was alot more confortable than it looked! that was a pretty cool start to the day and then it was towards taupo and sky dive #2 of the trip! arrived in taupo with time to see the haka falls- which were weird cos they were elongated rather than being high but still pretty cool. the dive was well worth the money, nice n high but the actual experince with the plane etc wasn't the best really. still great views all around the area, the snow capped mountians and the lake- a lot better than the morecombe flats me thinks! in the eve we went to a mexican place for dinner and then out to a few bars before hitting a club till 4. oh and there was mini golf tooin the afternoon which i won!:-) happy brithday rick too!
sun 2nd (taupo)- this was kinda a chill out day, a few ppl jumped on an earlier bus to get more time in the south island so there were only like 6 of us there. the maj of ppl slept all day, only gettin up to eat. so i said bye to the guys goin, and stayed up to watch some films and walk towrds the spa park and passed the bungy site. no bungy today and i got bored of walking so headed back to do my blog and chill really. walked around taupo for a bit and got some food with jesse and jeremy before a few inhouse beers. a nice day relaxing really
mon 3rd (wellington)- we decided cos there was only 5, yes FIVE ppl on our bus to skip River Valley and head straight to wellington instead. there was a cool walk in the tongariro national park (i'll hopefully be doing the bigger one on the way back up cos it was closed when iwas there) we saw the three biggest peaks in the north island of Ruapehu, Tongariro and Ngaruruhe (or mt doom to lotr fans!) the skies were clear so some amazing views and then a nice little waterfall too- taranki falls. we had a pretty long drive to wellington ,but afew films helped that and we arrived in welly in time for bumming around and then happy hour! the ppl who ahd left a day earlier ahd arrived a few hrs later so we all just went out for a crazy night out and itwas ace.
tues 4th- like many ppl i went to te papa the massive musuem in welly adn it was really really good. i maanged to stay in there for 4 hrs before my stomach gave way and i needed some food. but there was everything a good musuem needs, plenty to keep the kids happy but also loads on the background and history of new zealand/aoreotoa for the adults with a section on the future for the island too. after an intense few hrs there i relaxed at the hostel for the rest of the afternoon before hitting the cinema to watch 'Black Snake Moan' with samuel L jackson, christina ricci and JT too, a good film too.
weds 5th- weather wasnt too hot, but walked round wellinton to get a feel for it, and along courtney place and cuba st (rick you'll love it here, such a cafe and alt culture that would could hrs here!) found the cable car ride to the top of mt cook (i think!) to get panaramic views of the city, but the clouds were low and the views werent great. and cos of the weather i didnt walk round the gardens either, so again did some more walking, grabbed a coffee and went back to the hostel to relax and save some money. watched tv for the maj of the night and then took some okish pics of welly at night, nice n arty! booked my trip to fij itoo, so i'll be leaving on the 19/10 and coming back on the 29/10= yeah!
thurs 6th- weather was gorgeous today so walked to mt victoria to get some better views of welly (internet time going so i'll finish this later, ciao!)
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