Crestwood Homestay B&B North Island

... the area for approx. 3 hours. And yes, this island is bubble & sqeeek. Lots of hot sulphetic steam coming from underground, smoke everywhere, a rather toasty temperature and a stench of rotten eggs you will not believe, hence the gas masks. We walked around watching the earth steaming and showing its force and even got very close to the crater where rainwater had formed a lake, which was boiling away. We had some wind, which ...

We have found the coast! After the chill of Rotorua it has got lovely again - cloudless blue sky and long white beaches. Staying in a holiday park right on the beach (which makes it a bit more expensive) and plan to just lounge around tomorrow before heading off around the East Cape. Lots more secluded beaches apparently. Hopefully the weather will hold!

... we then head to Maketu where we stay with a local Maori family. The evening is quite fun, the guys learn to dance the Hakka and the girls learn to sing and dance with a Poy... would have been hilarious with a great crowd of people! and the Maori family dances and sings for us. They are really friendly and so hospitable! The next day we drive to Rotorua. The fragrance in the air reminds me of working in the lab with smelly sulfur compounds!! I don't ...

... de bar onder het hotel en de band had het hele hotel afgehuurd dus moest ik als arme backpacker het hotel uit. Ik ben verhuisd naar de Commercial hotel, niet ver hier vandaan. Helaas bleek deze nacht niet vervuld te zijn met leuk muziek. Vanavond is karaoke avond. Niet de beste avond. Voor de kamer was een sleutel. Die lag of aan de bar, of iemand anders had die! Ach, soms heb je dit soort nachten en zolang het bij een nacht blijft kan ik het hebben.

... the 'Bay of Plenty', named because Captain Cook had found good provisions here. Near 'Whitianga' the high coast road had fallen away so much, that in many places that there was a system of passing areas. In the late afternoon we reached 'Opotiki' and looked for a motel. Unfortunately they were full up and we couldn't find anywhere else, so we decided to carry on to 'Whakatane', farther along the coast. There was a gorgeous sunset, that kept disappearing in ...

We headed out of Raglan at about 8:00 am today. Oh my gosh... there is just something magical about that place. Never have I seen more amazing night skies, with more stars than I ever thought could be possibly up there- and sunsets, oh my gosh... they were gorgeous!! I was now on my new Stray Bus, with new people. I met the driver, Morrie who was a super chill guy. He was a redhead with dreadlocks, playing reggae-esque types of songs on his iPod on the bus. He reminded me of ...

When you arrive in a place that stinks of rotten eggs you normally have to good sense to leave. We didn't. instead we found a campsite 20 mins walk from Rotorua town centre and decided to explore. Rotorua itself is fairly nondescript but being in the middle of an area of 'significant geo-thermal activity', there's plenty of steam and hot mud with which to entertain oneself. First stop Waiotapu . This area of thermal pools is amazing ...

... amazing. it also had a lake in it which is the most acidic lake in the world (and was a pretty green colour). we also saw the remnants of an old sulphur factory. then it was back on the boat for lunch. by this time i was starving, and then we set off for home. 45 mins into the journey (it is an 80 min journey) the skipper slowed down cos dolphins were swimming with us, so we all wobbled out on deck as it was still really rough and watched them. then the skipper got a call ...

Hi Everyone, On Saturday morning we left Taupo early to check in at our next hotel in Roturua. When we had dumped our bags we headed north again to Whakatane airstrip. We had booked a helicopter and walking tour of White Island, which is an active marine volcano 50kms off the coast of the North Island. The island is privately owned and due to very strict regulations and the constant geo-thermal activity, only a few operators are allowed to land ...

... to pack the night before. I loaded all my stuff into the car, including the box of bits I was posting back home, and went to check out. I bumped into Ged at check-out, he was also running a bit late, so we were able to say our goodbyes and take some last minute photos of the hotel. I headed off round the post office to start with and off-loaded a large box of stuff back home - it didn't seem to make too much of a dent in my suitcase ...