We've been in New Zealand for 2 weeks now and since arriving in Auckland we've travelled around the North Island and tomorrow we are getting the ferry across to the South. From Auckland we went up to the Bay of Islands where we went on a parasailing trip which ended with us being dropped into the freezing cold sea! The winch that was supposed to pull us back to the boat had broken so apparently it was the only way to get us down - at least we are not still floating around up there but it was a bit of a shock! We are getting around the country on a hop-on, hop-off bus which has been great fun so far, we've stopped at beaches, viewpoints, waterfalls, been on walks and seen lots of sheep! In Rotorua, a town which smells of rotten eggs because of the sulpher springs and geothermal activity, we went to a Maori evening where we saw the Haka performed and learnt about Maori culture. We have also been white water rafting which was fantastic, the highlight was a 7 metre waterfall where our raft almost capsized but after being under for what felt like ages we all popped back up safe and sound. We spent longer then planned in a place called Waitomo, (famous for its glowworm caves) after our bus broke down for the afternoon so activities consisted of drinking coffees in the local cafe - a warm change from getting drenched and dunked into cold water!! Taupo was our next stop, a town on a huge lake and Graham has ticked off his New Zealand wish, to see a snowcapped mountain - easily pleased! Alot of the filming for Lord of the Rings was done around here and although it means nothing to us, having never seen the films, we've been through Hobbiton and seen Mount Doom. Another great place we stayed was River Valley, a remote lodge in the middle of hills and countryside, which was very cosy as our whole bus shared one massive bunk bed! We are in Wellington the capital city and have taken a break from partying and extreme activities to spend a very civilized day visting the national museum! Bye for now and we'll let you know soon what we get upto on the South Island.