Our next stop was Rotorua, we were warned that the sulphur smell would be overpowering. Our bus driver, Andrea, gave us a quick tour of town before making our way to our hostel, passing the museum in the government gardens and the Polynesian spa, a magnificent yellow outcrop with volcanic grey mud pools overlooking the lake. The weather was still fine, so Bobbi, Sam, James and I headed to visit the Polynesian Spa, New Zealand's leading internationally acclaimed ...

Tongariro Alpine Crossing is commonly cited as the best one-day walk in New Zealand and considered to rank in the top ten single day walks in the world. I am sure on a clear day this walk does live up to its reputation and would be a photographer's dream. However when we woke up at 6am for our 6.20 pick up we were just pleased it was not raining! There was very low cloud cover so the visibility wasn't great, it did brighten up later in the afternoon when we had c...

I was looking forward to visiting the Tamaki Maori Village most of all, to experience the traditional customs of the Maori people. On the bus we selected our chief, James, and had 10 minutes to prepare a song, that we were going to sing to the Maori guides on arrival into their village. When we arrived, we received a private traditional welcome and then sang 'Stand by Me' which went well but we forgot the majority of things we had prepared on the bus! The Maori ...

Today was the day we were going to experience the real Middle-earth with a visit to the Hobbiton Movie Set, the setting for The Shire that featured in the Peter Jackson directed films, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The tour started with a drive through the picturesque 1,250-acre sheep farm with spectacular views across to the Kaimai Ranges. Our guide escorted us through the ten-acre site, recounting fascinating details of how the Hobbiton Movie Set was c...

On the way to Waitomo we stopped at Karangahake Gorge, which has been voted, one of the 101 must do's for Kiwi's. This meant to fulfil our Kiwi Experience it was a must! Not only is this one of the most stunning stretches of river in the country it is home to one of the busiest and most lucrative goldstrikes in the country. The Windows walkway had windows blasted through the gold mining tunnels that provided stunning views into the Waitewheta River. The walk took...