Hey All,

Back in sunny Auckland now and almost at the end of our New Zealand Adventure! It's been amazing and I've loved every second of it! I'm actually really sad to think of leaving this place, we've been here for two and a half months and it actually feels like home! The people are so friendly, travelling has been so easy and the people we've met are so awesome we're in no doubt we've met friends for life out here!

Anyways before I say goodbye to NZ for good, let me tell you about our last 10 days on our CamperVan Adventure!...

So we picked the van up on the 15th Jan which was prob the WORSE day ever to attempt to get across the fourth biggest city in the world and attempt to drive out of it! This day was the first date of the 'Big Day Out' Music Festival which takes place every year in NZ and OZ. So of course what felt like the ENTIRE population of New Zealand flocked to the city that morning! We still managed to make it to the pick it point by 8am.. (we were paying for the whole day you know!) however the office was packed with people obviously following our idea and getting out of the city as quick as possible..! It was SOOO busy and our van wasn't ready so they gave us a car to go shopping with until it was, we didn't end up getting away til about 11am but because of this they give us free hire of table and chairs, a free bottle of wine and knocked off half a days rent! Score!

Anyways finally on our way we made it down Route 2 and headed to Hamilton. After stopping for abit of lunch and a look around we continued on our route West and headed for Raglan. Surfing Capital of New Zealand! A small beachside town that has tonnes of beautiful beaches and bays that tourists, families and surfers flock to in the summer months for the sun, sea, sand and waves of course! We stayed in a beautiful holiday park right on the beach and was surrounded by white and black sand due to the volcanic spots in the area. We spent the first night enjoying the campervan, learning how to put the bed together, find the kitchen equipment and playing with the radio, air conditioning oh and Will needed to get used to driving an automatic again! Good job he drove lots of the them during his america summers as I wouldn't have had a clue!!

We planned to only stay the one first in Raglan but after we heard some of our travelling buddies; Amy, Charlotte and her parents were arriving the next day and it was Amy's birthday we decided to stay to meet them and help Amy celebrate! So Will and I spent the next day exploring the bays and attempting surfing and body boarding until the evening where we had a BBQ and met the guys for drinks outside :)

Day 3 we headed North East and travelled right across the North Island, heading to the Bay of Plenty and main town Tauranga. We had to make a complusary stop in Cambridge (NZ!) for a photo pic and check out the posh streets of NZ village life! We then continued our journey through mountains, lakes and stopped at various points to take stunning pictures of the landscapes and waterfalls we saw along the way. We got to Tauranga in the afternoon and were both blown away about how pretty it was! After some advice from some friendly locals we headed up to the even more popular Mt Maunganui! And this place was even MORE stunning! Take a look at our pictures of just google it! I don't think our pictures do it justice, it is simply gorgeuous! The area is famous for it's Kiwi Fruit, a vast habour and port area which makes seafood a specialty! It was sooo busy on the day we got there but it was 30 degrees with no clouds in the sky, we soon found out it is one of the most popular spots for tourists and Kiwi Family holidays! We loved every second!

Day 4 we headed down the Pacific Coast Highway.. a CRAZY journey that took us through moutains, valleys, through gorges etc. You would not think was a major route network in New Zealand! It was super stressful for Will driving trying not to kill us and for me as I tried not to scream and shout when we were too near to the edge, a car, a moutain, next to a landslide etc etc! Hope you can imagine us now! :) We arrived in Gisbourne on the East Coast that afternoon. Due to Gisbourne's location, it is the first city in the world to see the sunrise every morning! So of course we woke up extra early to watch the sunrise over the moutains and the pacific ocean! So we can offically say we were one of the first people to see the sunrise on 19th January 2010! Cool hey!

Day 5 we headed further South, continuing on the East Coast to a place called Napier. A very pretty little town famous for it's wines! A beautiful coastly modern town that is only about 50 years old after it was rebuilt after a earthquake in the Lake Taupo region that devistated most of the North Island! We stayed in a lovely holiday park and enjoyed the sun and walks around town, oh and Will and I made tea of the gas burner ring we had supplied in the van, tea in the moonlight!

Day 6 we headed back inland and headed for Lake Taupo. This is where Will and I did our Sky Dives, which I may add seems like a lifetime ago! We arranged to meet a few friends here so combined it in our trip :) However the lovely sunny weather didn't last long, Lake Taupo was a big rainy mess, full of dark clouds, really heavy persistant rain and thunder! It basically continued to do this for the 2 days we stayed there! The good thing about Taupo is, it's a big city and spoke to Tourism Information there who explained we could park up in the local parks and gardens for free after 5pm and stay there til morning for free! No holiday park fee etc! Score! Oh and good reason for Taupo being so big is that we walked in to Base, the hostel we stayed it on our previous visit to use their showers, kitchen facilities and internet! Sneeky but saved us tonnes of money for the few days we were there!

Day 8 we were very happy to be leaving rainy dark Taupo behind! We headed North and headed back to Tauranga. You see we loved it very much and just couldn't resist not going back! And we didn't fancy visiting anywhere else smaller in the North Island anyways! Tauranga is GORGEOUS and we both can not believe the Kiwi Experience Bus does not take backpackers there, it full of beaches, bars, sports and just a really lovely place to hang out and do hardly anything for a few days! I'm pleased to stay as soon as we entered the Bay of Plenty again, the rain stopped, the sun came out and an hour later we were sitting on the beach and playing in the see! We actually stayed in Mt Maunganui itself this time round, in a gorgous location just at the bottom of the Mountain itself, (which we walked around) and 2 minutes walk from the beach! As our last night in the campervan, Will treated me to a yummy dinner in town before wine and playing in the sea and sand in the dark :) Lovely last night!

Day 10 was unfortantly back to Auckland to hand our beloved campervan back over and say goodbye to New Zealand! Sad times! Will of course was a great driver the entire trip and I was an OUTSTANDING map reader! We obviously wouldn't have got anywhere without me! :) hehe. Even I was a great driver on the smaller roads and not up moutains and in gorges!

So now we're back in Auckland and enjoying our last couple of nights before we head to Fiji on Tuesday! Wooooppppp! Although I am very sad to leave New Zealand, I am dead excited to head to Fiji for a month before Australia! We have friends out there at the moment who are enjoying 30-40 degree heats and 80 plus humidity! Blimey hey! Nothing like I've experienced before and I'm probably going to feel like I'm dieing but I'm sure I'll get used to it :)

Anyways that's it for New Zealand, I would really really love to come back, completely fallen in love with the place. Just hope everywhere else lives up to it :)

Lots and love and miss u all lots xxxxxxxxx