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We have been in New Zealand for nearly a week now, so I thought I would attempt a blog update! We arrived into Auckland at around midnight after a day spent on planes and hanging around in airports (definitely the worst thing about travelling). Exhausted, we collapsed into bed only to wake up early the next morning to head over to Waiheke Island to visit Gaelle's cousin Clement, who gave us a tour of the island and a wine tasting session at the vineyard he works at, The island was really pretty, and the sun was shining - New Zealand definitely gave a good first impression! In anticipation of colder days ahead, the following day we headed to Queen's Road in search of warm layers. And Gaelle cemented her geek status by branding herself with an elvish tatoo, which I have to admit is rather cute (don't worry Mum, I won't get one...)! The next day we headed out of Auckland and up north to the Bay of Islands, in torrential rain, stopping off at some famous public toilets along the way (very odd!). Paihia was pretty deserted when we arrived, and the islands were obscured from view by the rain so we headed to the treaty grounds in the hope that it was a sutiable bad weather activity. We were very soggy by the time we arrived, but we tried to ignore the nasty wet-jeams feeling as we watched a cultural Maori show, complete with singing, dancing and the haka. We then wandered around the grounds, marvelling at the huge waka (canoe) that holds 80 paddlers and seeking refuge from the rain in the 1840 English representative's house. I felt very cultured learning about the history of New Zealand and the signing of the treaty between the British and the Maoris that marks the birth of the country.
The following day we were back down to Auckland, and quickly up the Sky Tower (the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere) to watch the sunset and the darkness descend over the city. We were on the move again the next day, stopping off at a dormant volcano to admire the view over Auckland. We arrived in Rotorua around lunchtime, and were immediately assulted by the rotten egg sulpher smell - not very pleasant! We headed out to explore the hot spings in the local park, admire the museum architecture and marvel at how expensive a jade necklace is! Today was another very very wet day, so there was little to do apart from relax with a book, catch a bit of TV (it's all British!), have a quick walk when a rare dry spell appeared, and prepare for moving on to Taupo tomorrow!
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