WellingtonIf this sounds really crap its because im am writing this whilst in Coffs harbour (2 weeks later) We arrived in 'Welly' an the afternoon and caught a bus to our hostel. The busses were really cool. A lot of them were connected to overhead rails just like trams. I dont konw why but i found this really exciting. I think it was the thought that they were a bit like trains on the road. (im mad i know). We arrived at the Central YHA which i...

Paraparaumu ( XMAS PERIOD)(par-rah-par-rah-oo-moo), or to the locals shortened to paraparam.After having to wait on the bus for an hour before leaving and putting up with pensioners acting like four year olds arguing over seats; we finally arrived. As usual we weren't greatly organised, we hadn't realised that there were two places Paraparaumu (town) and Paraparaumu Beach the latter of which we were staying at but the former we had arrived ...

NapierOn our arrival in Napier we were met by the hostel owner. It was a good sign when i saw that the back of the van was full of paintings. It turned out that he owned a gallery/wine bar next door to the hostel. The hostel itself was a massive rambling old hotel, and when the owner described it as 'a doss house' we thought "what have we let ourselves in for". As it turned out the place was quite nice. To be fair it needed a lick of p...

TaupoArrived in Taupo in the evening and met up with our friend Eva from Austria. By pure coincedence we found out that she would be there at the same time as us. We had a quiet drink down by the lake edge watching the sun set. Both me and Em noticed how little she drank compaired to us. It seems that other nations treat drinking with a more mature attitude. Shame on us. Waikato RiverAfter getting up early in order to hire a car we forgot it was sunday ...

RotoruaWe arrived in Rotorua in the late afternoon only to be greeted by the smell of rotten eggs. No, there wasnt a problem with the sewage main; it was the smell from the sulphourus gases. You see, Rotorua is a hive of volcanic activity, being based directly on a fault line. Who in Gods name thought it would be a good idea to build a town here?? Oh yes- the Kiwis of course! As a result there are many features round this area such as natural hot water ...