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The North Island...Our trip on the North Island started in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It was strange being in a big city again, there were about the same amount of people in Wellington that there was on the whole of the South Island! Wellington itself was quite nice, we didn't do too much while we were there, one day it just poured down with rain so that ended up being a lay day. We went to Te Papa museum which is the museum of New Zealand which was brilliant, we spent a couple of hours in there and probably only saw just over half of the things. From Wellington we drove up the Surf Highway to a place called New Plymouth which to be honest isn't really worth mentioning, it was pretty much just a stop over on our way further up.We then drove to Turangi, again, we didn't actually do anything here but it was our base to do the Tongariro Crossing. The Tongariro Crossing is a 16km walk with a 750m ascent, and it was very hard!! We walked across lava flows and saw blue and emerald lakes and crossed over a volcano crater floor. The scenary was spectacular and it was really strange being in among the volcanoes. We were both pretty tired after the walk and I didn't think my legs would ever be the same again- they were though!!!After doing the walk we then drove up to Taupo which was a really nice place around a huge lake. We did another slightly shorter walk to see the Huka Falls which were cool, and as we were walking there through the park we passed a hot water stream, it was so strange. Phil did the Great Lake Hole In One competition, which basically is a competition where you have to hole the ball into a hole on a jetty on the lake, Phil didn't manage to get it in but he did actually hit the jetty and get pretty close which was cool. There is a lot of geothermal activity in the centre of the North Island and we visited a place called Craters of the Moon which was really strange. There is steam coming out of the ground everywhere and bubbling mud pools and boiling water, its pretty crazy. And finally in Taupo we lost our minds and decided to do a bungy jump!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- that is what you could hear when I jumped off the edge!!! Or when I let myself just fall over the edge, I wasn't brave enough to throw myself over and Phil took 2 attempts before he let himself go!! It was the scariest thing we have ever done!!!After that craziness we drove up to a place called Rotorua. There is a lot of geothermal activity going on here and there is a constant smell of sulphur (more commonly known as rotton eggs!) in the air. We visited another geothermal area called Te Puia which was good, there is a geyser there called Pohutu which is supposed to be one of the most active geysers in New Zealand, we got a pretty good show from it. The last geothermal area we visited was Hells Gate which was more of the same, bubbling mud, boiling water pools and steam coming out of the ground everywhere, there is even a hot water waterfall. They have a little spa here as well so we got to bathe in the mud which wasn't overly pleasant at the time but made your skin feel nice afterwards! We went on the skyline which takes you up to a vantage point overlooking the city. They have luge tracks which take you part of the way back down the hill so we decided to give it a go, it was so much fun, we were flying down, going round the corners on 2 wheels, it was great! Lastly we gave zorbing a try, it was so funny. For anyone who hasn't heard of it, you basically get put in a giant inflatable ball and get pushed down a hill! I really don't know how people think up these things but they are really fun! I was strapped into my ball and was bouncing down the hill, it was pretty scary, Phil decided not to be strapped in and had water in the ball with him so basically felt like he'd been through a wash cycle!!!! Next place on the journey was Whitianga, here we did some bone carving which was fun. We also went to Hot Water beach. Basically you go to the beach 2 hours either side of low tide and dig yourself a big hole on the waters edge, it then fills up with really hot water and you lie in it!! When we got there we couldn't hire a spade because the shop was closing but we walked down to the beach anyway and this couple were just leaving and said we could have their hole! It was really good as well, they'd obviously taken ages making it, oh well!! I forgot to take my bikini so I stood with my feet in warming up while Phil had himself a nice hot bath!After that we went to Auckland. Auckland is ok but not that appealing to be honest, we walked around the city and went up the Skytower which gives good views of the area. We also went to the pictures to see Shrek the Third which was good! We found an indoor snow slope just outside the city too so had a day skiing which was good fun. Phil managed to get wiped out by a snowboarder but there were no injuries thank goodness! Last stop on the North Island was up in Northland, we stayed at a place called 90 mile beach. 90 mile beach is actually about 64 miles so I don't know why they call it 90 mile but never mind, anyway, the beach is an actual highway, you have to drive on the right side, it has speed limits and everything, very cool! We also went to Cape Reinga which is the Northern most accessible point in New Zealand, and also the very place where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean- we could definatley see the join!!!! We drove down from 90 mile beach through the Bay of Islands and back down to Auckland where we fly to Fiji from. Phil turned 28 during this journey too, Happy Birthday Phil! Our campsite was too far away from the city to go out so I cooked him a meal in our camper van instead!The North Island of New Zealand is like nowhere we have ever been to be honest, its pretty crazy with the volcanoes and geothermal activity going on. It was great to see but we both do prefer the South Island still. So now we pack up our winter gear and prepare to bare out whitened bodies as we head on to the warmer climates of Fiji...
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