Well folks our time in New Zealand has drawn to a close and it's safe to say we've had a brilliant time over here.

After leaving Taupo we travelled onto Rotorua, where due to an abundance of thermal activity the town smells strongly of rotten eggs. When we first arrived in Rotorua we were taken to a place called the Realm of Tane, a 30 minute introduction to the Maori culture and a chance for them to convince you to come and enjoy an evening concert and hangi for an additional fee of course. Since we were staying in Rotorua for 3 nights we decided to do it. At 6.30 that evening we all got loaded onto a bus and driven 20 mins outside the town to a mock 1600's Maori village. On the way there the waka aka bus has to pick a cheif to represent their "tribe" and he will have to accept a peace offering from the Maori warriors to see if you come in peace. After the welcoming cermony is over we got a chance to wander around the village and see what life would have been like for Maoris living in the 1600's. A conch shell is then blown as a sign for you to go to the concert hall. The people of the village then put on 60 minute show of traditional Maori poi dances and songs and of course the haka. After the concert dinner is served in the form of a hangi. This is meats and vegetables placed on burning rocks and then burried underground for 4-5 hours. The result is fantastic. After stuffing ourselves it was back on the bus for the ride back into town. The next day we went for a walk about the town and to a park which has geothermic activity in it. We also went to Te Puia a nature reserve with hot mud pools, hot springs and geysers.

The next day we left Rotorua for Auckland, where we had a quick look about the city before heading off to the Bay of Islands the next day. We got to Paihia around midday so decided we would hop on a bike and cycle to Waitangi which is about 10 minutes down the road. It is also the site where the Waitangi treaty was signed on the 6 February 1840 by the British crown and 540 Maori cheifs to co-exsist in New Zealand peacefully. The next day we took a day trip up to Cape Reinga. We stopped off at a Kauri forest where some of the trees can have up to a 13 metre circumference! We then travelled up to the Cape Reinga lighthouse where the Maoris believe this is where your spirit departs this life and heads on to the afterlife. After the lighthouse we had a quick stop off for lunch and then tackled some 84m high sand dunes on body boards! A quick stop off for "fush and chups" before heading back down to Paihia.

We left Paihia the next afternoon and made it back down to Auckland for the All Blacks vs Ireland rugby game. We've just spent a few lazy days in the city chilling out and we're going to go up the Auckland sky tower tomorrow before we jet off the South America.

Hope everything is well with you all.

Love and missing you Sarah and Blair XxX