well what have i been doing since i last wrote? errr...travelling up and down the north island is one way of summing it up...oh and spending money, thats how travelling works right? after auckland i hopped back on the kiwi experience and started south via Whitianga (in the Coromandel district) through to Rotorua (smelly place), the Waitomo caves (glow worms and caving), Taupo, a lodge in the middle of nowhere called River Valley (we all struggled with no phone coverage for one night :-s), then through to Wellington. It took me only a week to get to the southern part of the north island! Hopping back on the kiwi experience was defo fun and there was nowhere near as much drinking as i thought there would be! Wellington is a lovely lovely city, i spent 3 nights there and could easily have spent longer there. The massive and FREE museum was a days entertainment in itself. Luckily it was very interactive so i was easily amused. I got to experience what it felt like to have an earthquake...dont worry it was a simulation not real, but wellington is one of the most prone areas for earthquakes due to its situation on a fault line...wow im all clued up on my knowledge these days.
I also met up with a friend from the south island that now lives in Welly so he took me to all the local places and also took me for a drive round the coastline. Its certainly very beautiful...more beautiful than the centre of the north island.

The weather hasnt been the best so outdoor activities were not so easy to do. Ive spent alot of time in hostels, watching movies and hanging out with new friends. I cant believe how many english are over here. of a bus of about 50 people, we were all english except for one german and one swede. crazy stuff!

After Wellington i made my way back up to Auckland to start the kiwi experience pass all over again. Once back in Auckland tho i decided that perhaps it would be better to do something a little different instead of going to all the same places all over again, so my plans completely changed once i got to Rotorua (for the third time!) I have now been in rotorua for 4nights trying to decide on what to do in my final 2 weeks of nz. yes it has taken me that long...there are so many options of things to do here and i have realised that i have done so much and also so little of the north...there are parts that i have not explored at all yet. tomorrow i head east on a bus tour called east as. it will take me to the furthest east point of new zealand and also give me an opportunity to see some more of the maori culture.

its definetely got alot colder here, ive had to invest in a fleece and there have been some freak storms that had hail stones that killed cows up here, and allowed people to snowboard on the beaches. crazy stuff.

it sounds like the birthday party for dad was super fun, im jealous that i wasnt there as i was probably in bed at the time. i have been slightly ill with tonsilitus for the last four days. beginning to clear up now tho which is all good.

think thats pretty much bought you all up to date now. im heading east tomorrow, then back to auckland on the weekend to catch up with janette and glynn before flying back to the south island for one last visit to Queenstown. what fun.

ciao for now xxxxxxx