Pukenui Lodge Rotorua

... over a river with mountains all around. Awesome scenery. Second stop was a town called Matamata, where they filmed part of Lord of the Rings. All the film sets were taken down when they finished filming though so all that was left was the 'Welcome to Hobbiton' sign, which we had a cheesy picture in front of.

Got to Rotorua in the afternoon. It's a really volcanic area with loads of geysers, hot springs and mud pools. Tomorrow we are going for ...

... We weren’t too impressed with Taupo, though this was probably due to the weather. We went for fish and chips (as advised as a top thing to do by the guide book) but were also disappointed by this as it was from a Chinese takeaway and they sold us ketchup in a tin.

The view across the lake was really misty so we wandered around the town before getting back on the road to our campsite at Glen falls nature reserve which was nearby to Napier.

... on the authentic setting of Rotowhio Marae, action songs, female poi dancing, traditional stick games & the famous war dance, the Haka.

We then went on a guided walk through the carving school, weaving school, the Te Aronui a Rua Meeting House, the Kiwi house, Ngamokaiakoko mud pool, Prince of Wales Feathers geyser & Pohuhtu geyser. The Pohutu geyser is the largest of several within the valley & erupts on average twice an hour. It can reach heights of up to 30m.
Rotorua, North Island, New Zealand dixie87

... jump out into the water. Our instructor joked to us that a waterfall was coming so I can imagine it was a funny but highly unattractive scene for those watching us panicking and trying to lift ourselves back into the raft! Eventually I was pulled back in. After we had finished we got a group photo then headed back. By the evening the jaigerbombs were flowing and the banter was on top form. 'Sweeet as bro!'

... there) for the evening's tour: Maori cultural performance, traditional dinner called a hangi and nighttime geyser show, if Mother Nature cooperated. The tour started with a performance similar to the one I saw at the Auckland Museum, but much more authentic in an outdoor setting and away from the city. The men and women who performed are all of Maori decent and even though it is a demonstration for tourists, it seemed like they were very proud to represent their traditions and ...

... in their communal outdoor baths. The ground is so thin that only a few families can live there and it seems they were all related. The guide's grandfather was 87 and an Englishman. They had buried her aunty last year and she took the last space in the cemetery, which consisted of concrete square mounds above ground with steam vents - quite strange! The guide showed us how they made their traditional skirts ...

Amanda: After our week in the Northland, we drove all the way back down past Auckland, then through to Hamilton to crash for the night in a motel. Before we turned in for the night, we had dinner at a great Thai place in town called.... "The Original Thai Restaurant" -- kinda catchy, eh? The reason I mention this place is that I had the best Thai food of my life there. It was (big surprise) pork-based, called Crispy Pork Curry. Little cubes of succulent pork tossed in ...

... into a jump suit, all the harnesses, a cap and then we toddled off to the plane - they kept asking me if I was excited, and no, to be honest, that wasn't quite how I was feeling - sick, more like! So the plane set off and I stayed cool, no panic, it was all part of this 'inevitable' feeling. A few minutes before the jump, I'd to sit on Eric's lap and that was when he strapped us together. I'd got my instructions. When he pushed us out of the plane (at 9000 ...

... br>The caves were just around the corner from our lunch spot, but unfortunately so was a bus of very loud and obnoxious Chinese tourists. And that was just their dress sense...



Since I was last here they've added a lot more tours that you can do; you can now abseil, raft or float into the caves, or you can visit some of the other local caves which ...

... Adri*n *nd K*ren Morton (*nd Adri*n's p*rents). We went k*y*king in the morning (ch*nge of pl*n from s*iling due to no wind; IBRSC t*ke note!) *nd for * round of golf in the *fternoon, in the sh*dow of * volc*no; very spect*cul*r. We re*lly enjoyed the d*y (*nd * few much-needed Kiwi*n* expl*n*tions) *nd look forw*rd to seeing Adri*n *nd K*ren *g*in in Molesey in the summer.

next journ*l - going *ll *ltern*tive in the Corom*ndel.