Hey everyone, sorry it has taken a while to write this blog entry but we have been busy!On our final leg of the north island we visited Rotorua, Taupo, Hastings and Wellington. None of which were as picturesque as the far North but still worth a visit.Rotorua is famous for it's geothermal activity, Maori culture and adrenaline activities. Needless to say we didn't engage in any adrenaline sports although we did attempt to go Zorbing but were refused on account of Marks previous shoulder dislocation. So we went for a round of mini golf instead - nothing like living life on the edge!!Due to the geothermal activity and the sulphur fumes given off the whole place smelt of rotten eggs! A little off putting at first but you got used to it after a couple of days. Spa's are big business in Rotorua due to the waters health benefits and so one morning we headed off to the Polynesian spa. They had 13 spa pools all heated to varying temperatures and overlooking lake Rotorua, not a bad way to spend a rainy morning I thought but we had to leave early as Mark was overcome by the smell!!

The day we left Rotorua we visited Wai-O-Tapu geothermal area famous for it's lively, bubbling mud pools and the Lady Knox Geyser. The mud pools are so hot that if you fell in you'd be cooked in 46 seconds! Once inside the park we walked the perimeter passing various thermal pools and caves all of which contained striking colours as a result of mineral deposits.

From here we headed down to Taupo, a small town situated on a huge lake which is larger than Singapore! On our first day we hired a car and travelled across to Hawkes Bay on the east coast to meet up with Teddy and Wendy (relatives of Marks). They took us out to lunch at a very nice restaurant in a large winery. The Hawkes Bay area is famous for it's wineries and orchards- the place is full of them. In the afternoon Ted took us out for our very own tour of the area and we got a great view of the town from Te Mata peak. The landscape is quite unique due to the volcanic activity- rather than smooth rolling hills the land is lumpy and uneven. We spent a good few hours being shown around and it was great to spend time with Ted.

The remainder of our time in Taupo was spent waiting for a weather change that would allow us to do the Tongariro Alpine crossing. It's a six hour hike into volcanic terrain where you can see an active crater, steam vents, emerald colour lakes and lava flows. Sadly it never materialised before we had to move on to Wellington.

In Wellington we visited the most famous museum in NZ called Te Papa. It means 'our place' in Maori. The museum is very interactive and uses new technology as well as traditional exhibits to tell the stories of New Zealands past. It's also home to the worlds largest captured squid- an amazing sight. However, the most alarming fact we discovered was that New Zealand has 15000 earthquakes a year!!!!!! They also had an F1 exhibition at the time which followed the progression of the sport from the 1920's onwards- surprisingly interesting and Mark thoroughly enjoyed it.

We continued our cultural pursuits by visiting the theatre that night to see a play titled 'Who's Poppin?'. It turned out to be a one man play about the origins of body popping- a little surreal but really quite good. To restore the normal balance we left the theatre and went and got bladdered and danced to cheesy 80's music-a good day all round!!

Wellington itself was actually quite a nice place which we hadn't expected having heard mediocre reports from other people. It's similar to Auckland in the sense that it is right on the waterfront, but does start to look a little like Benidorm once you get out of the central district due to the high rise buildings. We didn't have nearly enough time to explore the capital city properly but would definitely go back if we ever in NZ again.

The three hour ferry journey from Wellington to Picton was beautiful as we cruised through the fjords. We even saw a few dolphins playing in the wash from the ferry. All in all we had a great time in North Island and would love to revisit the far north especially. We've lost count of the number of people who have said, 'wait until you get to the South Island it's so much more beautiful'. If they're right then things can only get better........