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Well Hello!
We had a great last week in the North Island, which started with finding a quiet campsite miles away from anything apart from our own private beach, and then a nice walk in the forest.
Visited Napier (Art Deco capital of the world – probably our favourite town in NZ) for Deco spotting, then just south of Napier we stayed in the cheapest campsite ever (we later realised why – at night when we were in the van with our lamp on we got surrounded by bugs, literally hundreds of the things! We felt like we were being attacked like Indiana Jones or something. Nasty!).
Next stop was Taupo for a visit to the impressive Huka falls, then the ‘Craters of the Moon’ where stinking steam from molten magma came out of the red and grey ground and bubbling mud pools.
We then tackled the challenging Tongariro Crossing – a 7 hour hike/climb up rocky crags to volcano craters and blue emerald pools. It was pretty amazing starting at 6 in the morning in the dark with a headtorch, no other people for company and looking up to the striking mountain that was ‘Mount Doom’ in the Lord of the Rings. The spa and mineral pools later on were much appreciated (as well as a massive portion of fish and chips!).
Our final stop of the North Island was New Zealand’s capital – Wellington, where highlights included art galleries, the biggest museum in NZ (showcasing the amazing colossus squid suspended in a tank), live Irish fiddlers after cocktails, and a trip to the theatre (although we felt rather think as it was too intellectual for us mere degree graduates!).
We got the ferry across and are now in the South Island – but you’ll have to wait until the next exciting instalment to hear about that!!
Bye,
Em and Ben
xxx
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