WOW!!! This is a beautiful country. From white sand to black, hills to volcanoes, ferns to eucalyptus trees, there is just so much to see for such a small country. And that was only the north island.

First stop Auckland. This was time to relax and catch up with some well deserved sleep. So I took it easy, watched numerous films and did some mildly energetic sightseeing along the west coast.

VIEW OF AUCKLAND FROM VOLCANO

BLACK SAND

But of course, I made sure I went out one night just to evaluate Auckland’s nightlife! And although the clubs were not ‘all that’, we had a wicked time. It was a silly night. True. First was the sticker frenzy, closely followed by the flicking game.

WE FOUND MANY STICKERS

FLICKER SWEDES

It was time to leave Auckland. I joined a group and headed north to the Bay of Islands. The Bay of Islands definately lacks a nightlife but the magnificent views make up for it. All the way up to Cape Reinga we were able to go sandboarding (sorry no photos but there was a lot of sand up there), ride a bus on the beach and take a quick pic where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet.

WHERE SEES MEET

Next up we made our way back down past Auckland to Waitomo famous for its caves. We went blackwater rafting down these caves to see some spectacular shows by glow worms. Apparently they call it shiny shit… nice! (we made sure to keep our mouths shut when looking up).

PRE CAVE PIC

IN THE CAVE

After Waitomo we prepared ourselves for Rotorua. Its smelly, its earthquake prone but its great. We kept ourselves incredibly busy in Rotorua. first a farm show (surprisingly not that funny), next a race in luges, a huge swing travelling at 150km and a failed attempt at overcoming my fear of heights…. and of course what we really came here to see, some geysers and some traditional maori dancing: the haka

SHEEPTASTIC

HAKA TIME

ERUPTION

ROPES I DIDNT DARE CLIMB

Lake Taupo would be our next destination and its highlight: a nighttime fishing expedition. A little extra which hadnt previously been mentioned was that we would have to go dressed in our pyjamas. As I own no pyjamas I wore a dress that everyone was all too happy to say looked just like a nighty. thanks guys!!!!

OK IT DOES LOOK LIKE ONE

BOYS NOT AS UP FOR DRESSING

FRENCHIE WELL INTO FISHING

And that was it for Auckland as we made our way to Wellington for my last night with the group.

 

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