Hi all,

So here is the blog from New Zealand you have all been waiting for after seeing all of our pictures I guess we need to let you all know what we have been up to...

So, we flew into Auckland and headed straight to the campervan depo and picked up our home for the next 30 days, after what seemed like forever being stuck in traffic we eventually found ourselves in Wenderholm a small town a little north of Auckland where we set ourselves up for our first night in the camper.

The next day we continued heading north to the Bay of Islands with an overnight stop in Tutukaka, We also stopped at Waipou caves en route where we bumped into a group of nudists, it was hilarious, there we were stood in a cave admiring the glow worms surrounded by a group of people wearing nothing except their wellington boots and a head lamp!!! They turned out to be friendly and even lent us one of their torches!

We finally made to Paihia after 2 days on the road only to discover that the journey should have actually taken just 4 hours!! We spent the next 4 days staying with Sam and her boyfrind Rich where we were kept busy by our tour guide Sam, who really seems to be embracing her role as an Explore NZ tour rep!! She had us signed up for everything including trips to Waitangi to the Treaty House, swimming with dolphins, whale watching and horse riding in the forests!! We were also supposed to be going sailing on an old tall ship the R Tucker (apparently its famous) but unfortunately that had to be cancelled because of the weather but of course Sam had a back up plan and we wre whisked off to see the spectacular Rainbow Falls instead!!

Eventually it was was time to leave Sams and get back in our camper and head south along the east coast. Our next stop was the Corromandel Penninsula where Mike treated us to a trip to the local gold mining experience! Mike got to live out his childhood fantasy of working down the mines, but soon realised that at 6'3" height was a bit of an issue!!

Taking sams advice (she compiled a detailed list of places we should visit) we decided to check out Cathedral Cove. This became on of our favourite photography spots as we were stunned by the views as we walked along the cliffs and down into the limestone cove. A trip to Waterworks completed our Corromandel experience. Waterworks is basically a water based theme park, where all the rides and activities are powered by water. So we had a great time acting like children and playing on the rope siwngs, zip slides and spray cannons, although riding on the E.T bikes which 'magically' flew through the air was definitely a highlight!

The next day was mostly spent driving. We eventually reached Otorohanga in the late afternoon so decided to stay there. The next morning we woke up early as we had booked ourselves onto a black water rafting experience through Waitomo Caves. So after a quick briefing we were soon strapping ourselves into wetsuits and hard hats grabbing a rubber tube and boarding a bus to the caves. Upon arrival at he caves we were informed that we would be leaping backwards off of waterfalls in the pitch black so we had to have a practice run in the nearby river after leaping successfully (and a little hesitantly from Hayley) we were soon floating down rapids in complete darkness inside the caves with only the glow of glow worms lighting the way! It was an awesome experience and blind waterfall jumping turned out to be the best bit! So that was the start of our extreme sporting ventures. Next we were off to Rotorua where zorbing was the agenda. Zorbing was hilarious as we dived into a giant inflatable ball filled with water and went tumbling down a rather large hill! There were arms and legs flying all over the place as we tried not to kick each other in the face!

Rotorua also provided us with a bit of culture as we visted the Maori museum and our aching muscles were treated to a soothing dip in the natural hot springs.

More extreme sports were to follow as we headed to Lake Taupo where Mike decided to throw himself off a bridge whilst doing a bungy. I think I was more scared than he was and all I had to do was take photos!

Following the advice of a couple we met our camp for the night the next day we drove to Napier, 'the art deco capital of the world' where we found ourselves in 1930. We visited Napier just at the right time as the weekend we were there happened to be the art deco festival which is when all of the locals dress up in traditonal art deco outfits and drive to the beach front in their vintage cars to set up picnics. It looked like so much fun and it made the town look even more authentic.

After Napier we visited Palmerston North, which didn't really have much going on so after a quick visit to the national rugby museum we were back on the road travelling towards Wellington. However this drive turned out to be more eventful than we anticipated as we managed to have our windscreen smashed by a passing lorry. It was actually really frightening as the bang was so loud, we thought the whole window was going to cave in, however after phoning the hire company they assured us that there was no way the window would fall out so after a quick visit to a window repair shop we were soon back on track. No harm done!!

We decided not to spend too much time in Wellington as we would be passing through it again on the way back up to Auckland, so after only nights stay we booked ourselves on to the ferry over to Picton in the South Island.

Our south Island adventure continues in our next blog...

Lots of love

Hayley and Mike xxxx