Silver Fern Resort Rotorua

... house with a few kiwis in there - they are noctunal birds so it is dark but we saw 2 of them and they are much bigger than we had imagined.

We got a quick bite in Subway and went to the gondola which took us up to the luge tracks. The view over Rotorua was gorgeous. We got 3 luge rides so first you have to do the scenic track. A luge is like a go kart but it is plastic and doesn't have an engine - you go down a steep track so gravity moves it. Ror ...

... me by surprise! I was really rubbish at the schweebing, could get the hang of the gears so Nick managed to lap me on a 3 lap race. The zorbing was loads of fun, they put warm water in the zorb and then I went down a wiggly track, it was so much fun falling around!

The next day we went to the public park to look at the thermal springs (very smelly) before we set off for Waitomo.

... watch the sky becoming the ground and vice versa, then down the hill with both of us in it along with a load of warm water (not strapped in), and down a zig zag course again with loads of water - this is so funny! it is like being in a washing machine (maybe?). later on we went to a spa called Hells' gate. It has a thermal park like Wai-o-tapu but is a bit lame in comparison - would be better to come here first! there is ...

... away and is now also staying in the house. Tony barbecued  and we had a big cooler of wine/beer etc so it was a lovely, chilled way to spend a Saturday night but we were sensible and came home pretty early as Flooze had to be up to leave by 6 the next morning. I was kind of glad I was still half asleep when she left so I didn't get all teary but was v sad to see her go - it was so great to have her here for my first few days and brilliant fun road-tripping with her! Thanks Flooze!

Well, It has been a weird day. The farm was an amazing experince that I don't think I could have done without. I learned so much and for a while felt really at home. I stayed with a couple. They were in their mid-50s and really into alternative houses. They were building an adobe house that I was able to help them with. I learned how to lay the foundation and how to stack the bricks in to the wall. And that is not all! I also learned ...

... the flight. Who were Rob and Pauline from St Louis in the USA. We were weighed as a group for the flight and , by the reaction of Diana on the desk, we must have been a little over the weight limit. The pilot came out and nodded his head , so we were ok to go. Another group of passengers was also waiting in the office and it turned out this was specialflight for the boys 5th birthday. He was booked to have 5 minute flight but I think it turned into more of ...

... the caves...or you can go Black Water Rafting. Black Water Rafting is basically caving except you have a full body thick wet suit on and a very small inner tube. Since the caves we are entering have water running through them, we basically float/raft through the caves going over several waterfalls and slides. It was a blast. Sorry I did not take any pictures of the glow worms or in the cave because I didn't have a waterproof camera. Once we exited the ...

... sweet potato like tuber vegetable). The man at the general store across the street is very nice, a little too kind maybe but nothing has come of it. I asked him if he sold hand lotion and he said they had non but he was going into town to get some new stock and would get some for me. I also bought some gum from his store. He calls me sweet heart which is a bit strange but I think he's just trying to be nice so I take it as a compliment. Enjoy the sun while it's out! sabine Ng.

... t have glow worms, but are apparently still worthy of some sensational adjectives in their potted descriptions!

We decided to go for the basic walking tour which was NZ$35 (about 13 quid), as we didn't have enough time for anything more fancy.

Luckily the guides decided to keep the lairy Chinese tour back from the main group, so we joined our ...