Best Western Cintra Lane Serviced Apartments Auckland

... Noir and a bowl of fruit waiting for us in our lounge. Then we headed down for an amazing 75-minute "Duo" massage - all compliments of our new best mate Steve, the manager of the Spa. Ahhhh...

Due to technical difficulties, photos will follow at a later date. If you're so inclined (and it makes you feel better) you may take that as evidence that I'm making this all up... nighty night! x

... we then travelled onwards to otorahanga and went to the bird farm to see kiwis. we saw a couple kiwis but because theyre nocturnal they were in a dark room and we werent allowed to take photos! we walked around the rest of the park just because we had paid but only really saw ducks and a few more birds and ghekkos and stuff! dean wasnt too impressed! the next day however we had more fun! underneath the region we were in are miles and miles of ...

... in action (see parade pictures). The weather's been pretty rainy similar to our past summer. Hopefully we will see some rays at our next destination as we board the Kiwi experience bus to Mercury Bay. Take a look at our pictures below and we will be sure to update within the next few weeks.

Take Care!

Brett & Jen

... only 55) After driving on the beach we went sand tobogganing down the dunes, this was done on a body-board. Great fun- the only problem was the hail storm at the top of the dune, which soaked us and covered us in sand! We the drove up to see the Lighthouse and eat lunch on a lovely beach, before heading home. A good day. Very kindly the next day, our hosts offered us the use of one of their cars, so we took two of their kids and drove around the coast stopping at a whole ...

... was from 1030-1200, and I deemed it a perfect chance. By the way, the weather felt like 50-60F, or 13-16C.

The boat showed us a panorama of the beautiful downtown Auckland, and I also saw my first volcano! The boat captain provided interesting details about the city, and I took ample pictures.

After returning ...

... on it's student / b*ckp*cker night eventu*lly won us over on * Tuesd*y night, p*rticul*rly with the *llure of $4 house drinks *nd $7 te*pots, the Long Isl*nd Iced Te* being my p*rticul*r speci*lty, despite horrendous he*rt burn usu*lly the next d*y). M*ny t*les of weeknight drinking *nd deb*uchery kept the service desk entert*ined the next morning *nd I've gott* s*y I enjoyed trying to remember telling the t*le, ESPECIALLY when I looked *t my c*mer* phone photo's *nd ...

... ceiling. Where the caves opened up to a massive underground cavern it was like looking up at the stars in a pitch black sky.

Taupo was the next destination, the adventure capital of the North Island, and where a lot of people chose to skydive. I maintained my wallet wasn’t ready for that just yet but in truth I hadn’t yet summed up enough bottle to throw myself out of a plane! I opted for the famous Tongariro Crossing, voted as one of the ten most spectacular ...

... 20! Would definately do it again and recommend it to anyone! A day later we cruised up to Rotorua, which really smells of sulpher due to the high thermal activity, I honestly couldn't imagine living there long! In order to save some money we decided to chill for the 2 nights we were there with the people we met along the way. Tomorrow we aim to go to the Bay of Islands (north of Auckland) for two nights and then back to Auckland to jet over to Darwin Australia and back to the intense heat!

... the cities buildings and volcanoes is fascinating. 90% of all the birds and trees are only found in NZ. The bird calls can be startling when you're lying in the park. The city is set up in a very European way. All the most interesting hideaways are located in back alleyways or small side streets. The town is very backpacker and visitor friendly. There are at least 3 really nice hostels within 1 ...

... The owner also pointed us to a fish and chip van that sold freshly caught fish which made a fantastic dinner! The next day was a tough, full day drive to Thames, named because someone thought it reminded him of the river back in Blightly but we didn't see the resemblance. As you can imagine, everyone was pretty tired, so we had a quiet evening, ready to take on the town the following day. First came the Butterfly and Orchid Park, located in a campsite that had no ...