Anlaby Manor Hamilton

... go but it brought home how dangerous the windy roads can be, after that I must admit I was even more cautious.Any way we stayed the night in the National park with the intention of doing the track over the mountains the next day but the weather closed in and we were not able to cross the mountain so did a quick 3 hour treck in the rain to the waterfalls!!!. We then ...

... was given a “briefing” to make sure that I wouldn’t die whilst in the air.<br><br><br><br>After putting on my hi-vis and getting escorted by James to the Cessna plane he prepped us for the flight and before you know it we were in the air. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. Once you get away from the skankiness of Hamilton and see the surrounding area it shows NZ in all its glory. We were flying to the Coromandel and the weather was ...

... that had erupted 20 000 years ago which explains all the thermal activity in the area. Even just walking around the city you can see big areas that are steaming and bubbling away and are all fenced off. We went to a cultural Maori show one night and it was fantastic. It was on the site of an actual ancient Maori village, right on the river. We saw the warriors come down the river in their Waka (canoe), dressed up with all the facial ...

We would spend the next few nights in a west coast surf town called Raglan, immortalized in The Endless Summer and known to have the world's longest lefthand surf break. The town had a great vibe (everything centers around surfing) and was thankfully still empty in anticipation of the coming holiday high season. I got some great surfing in on a rented board, while Mikeo got some beautiful photographs ...

... time to call England, given the 13 hour time difference. The work part of the day was mainly orienting me to the University, so a guided walking tour; organising a library card; sorting an office out for me - I'm now in my third; getting me a username and password to log on to the system (still not sorted out, which meant I couldn't do much work and instead had to concentrate on getting the Travelogue up to date ...

... etc.etc. Is it ever okay to wish someone would die? Because watching Olivia turn a shade of grey/purple that I thought was only possible in a corpse, watching her struggle to take a breath and seeing her give up for only a few seconds - until she was shaken and started breathing again - I wished she would die. I wanted to turn off the oxygen and let her make the decision on her own. I wanted to stop pushing, pulling, banging on her in an attempt to get ...

... in two languages without even realizing my mouth was moving. I lingered in the massive cathedrals, marveling at their awe and wealth. The stain glass windows painting pictures of a man so many people worshiped as a god but who was, in the end, just a man. Catholic Church is solemn. It's quiet, sometimes peaceful, sometimes guilt-ridden. If there is singing it is fairly serious hymns full of warning and praise be to God. People dress up in "itchy church pants" and stockings. They ...

... of. I feel really sorry for the bunny as it's stretched out on something that looks more at home in a torture room but it doesn't seem to fazed by it! We then go back to Sue's where we spend the rest of the day sat reading and enjoying the sunny weather sat outside her house and we watch Paul and his friend playing golf at the top of the hill opposite. All too soon we're saying goodbye to Sue and Paul and on the bus (with supplies of homemade cake) on our way to Auckland.

The first thing I noticed about the scenery once on the road, is it is much like parts of the UK. It is the same shade of green and the rolling hills remind me of crossing the Pennines or Pembrokshire. It is beautiful and it is the first time on my whole trip that I have felt home sick. Maybe a little to do with leaving Amy, Ben and the rest behind and being with relative strangers, but all my dreams ...

... two sliding side doors free to use. Among the items Kirsty uncovered were: a load of kitchen gear, a tub of cutlery (most of which was covered in caked-on egg), crockery (ditto), a power cable should we splash out on a powered campsite, two bent badminton racquets, a golf club and a few balls, a library of terrible books (Ronald Reagan: My Early Life), a load of Cheerios (arbitrarily strewn throughout the vehicle), quite a lot of rubbish (empty jars and such), two folding chairs (one ...