Tues 25th- went past 3rd largest dairy area in New Zealand- was such a flat area- weird for NZ!Went through Paeroa (famous for its Paeroa drink). Stopped at the town of Matamata- home of the Hobbit!! We had a Maori experience this evening. The best bit was the bus ride there; our bus driver was hilarious! He greeted us in 54 languages- was incredible! The music and dance side of the evening was pretty 'Hollywood' style but a good experience; and the Hangi dinner was sweet!the bus driver was equally as commical on the way back, and he drove round and round this roundabout so many times.He then asked us if we were all having a good time. He then swung the bus door open as we had all kept quiet- we quickly all said we had had a great evening!! Wendesday 26th April- Went for a very early morning run round Lake Rotorua with Jake this morning then we got to dive into the swimming pool fully clothed before rushing to catch the bus!Went to a cool Maori museum; saw yet more steamy hot pools, including a mud pool!Saw a Kiwi bird too! best bit of the day was ZORBING!!! Was absolutely hilarious! I was not going to do it but then everyone else did so i followed! We got to watch lots of others go first- the white balls were huge! The grass slope was not as long as i thought though- few!I was nervous when i got to the top- had to dive into the huge ball which was full of water. I went with Nick and Ali, who were determined to treat it like a hamster ball and roll all the way down whilst standing up- that soooo didnt work. Within seconds we were out of control! I had legs and arms on my head the whole way down- it was sooo funny! When we fell out of the ball at the bottom it looked as if the ball was giving birth to us!! I then decided to sign up for black water rafting- so glad i did! We got picked up from our hostel in this big blakc van then we got kittled out in hilarious wet suits and huge white boots and helmets. We then had a practise at abseiling, we then had to put our practise into use and abseil down a black hole- it was petrified! We had to hang off the edge for a while before plunging down the hole; there was one bit that was so narrow i wondered whether i was going to get squashed by the wall!!After swinging round in circles for a while i finally got through the hole then finally to the bottom- i was shaking but so pleased i had completed it!We then tied to a harnesss and down a huge flying fox/zip wire- it was great! I screamed all the way down; we had no idea where we were going and it was all pitch black! We were given tea and flapjack- much needed! We then had to put a rubber ring behind us and jump off into the water- i had to be pushed! The water was sooooooooo cold. I then started to float in the opposite direction; managed to get myself back on course and we then had to pull a rope to guide us through the water. I was at the back, and unfortunately i fell out of my rubber ring, and lost hold of the rope; i managed to put the ring over my head but then could not swim; after shouting for help. dan came back for me- unlike the instructor, who when he finally did come, said 'oh, i thought we had lost you!!'We then got to relax whilst the instructor grabbed our legs and made us float down the water in a bit snake formation. We then had to float down the river on our now; i hit my backside and hands so much! We did a bit of swimming too as the ceiling was too low for us to kneel.We then got to walk for a while- Dan and i went the wrong way! Then the worst (kiinda best!) bit of all... our climb up 2 waterfalls! Scary stuff i can tell you!The instructors were trying to help us but it was so difficult to hear them with all the water rushing over our heads! It was difficult to lift myself up- and we had to get exactly the right foot/hand onto each bit of rock! Finally made it! Then Ali scared me with a 'omg there are hundreds of spiders above your head' joke- so unfunny!! Was so nice to get back to the dry where we were given hot bagels and soup! Thursday 27th April- saw hilarious Angora rabbit shearing place! We got to watch the bunny be sheared- it was only half sheared so the second 'tour' group could also get a look in!! We then headed to Taupo for our sky diving adventure!! i was so excited and the music (Eye of the Tiger) playing on the bus really got me fired up for it- i was surprised i was not nervous! However.... as it was getting to night fall- 8 of us were called out and had to jump tomorrow- i was sooooooooooooooooo annoyed as i was so hyped up to do it tehre and then! Went to an Irish bar then Holy Cow- best bar in Taupo! Had to have a cow stamp put on our chests (the guys had one on their foreheads!) Ginny our bus driver joined us for drinks and we played lots of pool. Steph and i did the LAWNMOWER dance too!! Friday 28th- got up at 10 and went to see if diving would be on- it was raining so it was called off AGAIN- lucky though as i was not feeling all that up for it after Holy Cow! Saturday 29th- Got up at 7 to blue sky- yes!! i was so excited but was not going to get my hopes up until i was actually all kitted up and ready to take the dive! My adrenaline started to pump though! I started to get nervous but when we finally got into the plane i was just giggling (nervously!) We started to accend and i could not beleive how high we were going- i thought we were nearly there when we had only reached 4000 feet! We finally reached 1200 feet and Jake was first to go!I then got strapped to my partner and the plastic (that was called the door!) opened and out jake fell! I was next! We sat on the edge of the plane then my camera man went first then i was off- I WAS FLYING! it was a bit difficult to breathe but i was having a whale of a time! even managed to touch the camera man's hand- Sweet!Then the parachute came out and my legs went flying over my body! The descent down was incredible- so still-my feet were a little cold though!The scenery was incredible- mountains, Lake Taupo.. the landing wasnt too great- my tandem partner fell over!!I attempted to stand up but i was shaking a little bit! HOW AMAZING! i was so pleased that i had done my FIRST skydive!We then all watched the DVD- how embarrassing! We all look like chipmunks!!We then headed down to River valley- the scenery down there was incredible! The hostel was in the middle of nowhere! We all had a great roast dinner, i got drunk on a glass of wine as i was still so adrenaline fired after my skydive! We then played jenga and finally went to bed- the bedroom consisted of about 20 beds all in rows- it was very comical! Sunday 30th April- Decided to do a horsetreck today- not the best thing on a hangover- but thought it may help!Was a bit nervous as i hadnt been on a horse for a while!It was chucking it down (apparently thats a very English saying!!) but we were given 'dry as a bone jackets'! My horse was called Fred- i managed to guess which one he was out of all 8 horses- great effort!!The scenery was incredible- i have always wanted to go trecking in NZ! We arrived in Wellington in the evening- we decided to go on the all-girls floor; we were fed up of lack of sleep due to snoring guys!We had $5 dominos pizza for dinner then headed down the the awesome Basement bar. Ginny our bus driver bought us each a shot, and then a guy who was in the rugby team at sandhurt (!!!) offered me a drink- on the condition that i talked to him for 15 mins- i was not going to say no!had a rather amusing chat with him and a few of his other mates' one of whom played rugby for Leicester Tigers!! We then went to an Irish Bar, and finally got back and used the interent fora while (no idea why!) at about half 4! Monday 1st May-Steph and i got our Sky diving photos developed today- kept us amused for a long time! We then headed to molly Malones Irish bar in the eve and listened to some VERY traditional Irish music.