Our third continent approaches...

Hey!!!

Its a sad day for me, as its my last in New Zealand!! Can you believe it!!! (i know your all crying inside) Yes tomorrow myself and Tony take a plane from Aukland to Buenos Aries where we have 2 nights before catching another plane to Peru to start our final part of this amazing adventure, its been the best thing i have ever done!

However since moving up from the South Island we’ve still managed to enjoy ourselves and have some amazing days doing some great stuff!!! After the capital of Wellington we moved on Taupo, a volcanic area that oozes thermal activity. We visited the fast flowing Huka Falls and then the Craters of the Moon, a thermal area thats very eerie, large craters of mud bubble away and steam rises all around you…the smell isnt pleasant but the experience is worthwhile!

Next up was Rotorua, where we spent 3 fun packed days there spending cash and having laughs! Before we arrived we caught the 10.15am ritual that is the Lady Knox Geyser going off which was really cool. The 1st night was spent at a traditonal Maori village seeing how they used to live, first off we had to pass the warriors as we entered, but luckily we had there blessing, then we saw tradtional Maori activities in the village and we even ate like Maori’s (the ‘Hangi’ which is food cooked for hours under the ground and under hot stones) it was scrumptious, if not a little ‘earthy’ tasting! hehe! After a final farewell dance and Haka we left all with smiles on our faces, it was a good night!

The following day was spent in Waitomo, to be the precise the Waitomo Caves as we went Black Water Rafting, whats that?!? i hear a few of you say…well, it basically involves caves, fast flowing water, people and a rubber tube…then all you do is sit in the tube and float around, falling down waterfalls, squeezing through gaps and taking in the amazing sights of the gloworms above your heads, it was great fun!

Our final day was spent doing Zorbing, another crazy NZ activity that involves being strapped into a massive plastic ball and being rolled down a hill…i think it needs to be tried to appreciate it! And then we took in the thrills of the Rotorua luge, again loadsa fun…its always good to race the Japanese tourists and hear them shreek as you scream past them! hehe! And that was Rotorua, we stayed at Hot Rocks,so for all of those heading that way anytime soon…check it out, it was a nice hostel and the 12 bed dorm isnt as bad as it sounds as you get your own seperate rooms inside it!

And so to the bright lights of Aukland, we took this chance to basically chill out and see some friends who very kindly showed us around the city. Aukland maybe bustling but its still very nice and easy to relax in. Over the past few days apart from sorting out the boring stuff like sending things home and arranging flights, we’ve been up the Skytower, done a reverse bungy, visited Kelly Tarton’s Antarctic Museum, made ‘wowing’ noises at all the impressive Yachts at the America’s Cup Village and basically had fun! We sat through the 2nd Men in Black film, which was an acheivement in itself and found it much easier to sit through Brazil’s World Cup victory in the comfort of a local New Zealanders home (it pays to have friends here!!),  Planet Hollywood is a really great place to eat and would be my choice restraurant here, David Hasslehoff’s trunks from Baywatch are also on show, and that is surely worth a peek! So overall Aukland and NZ has been another great chapter of our adventure and i ant wait to come back! But now its onto Peru and the Inca Trail, which i can imagine will be the icing on the cake! So long, see you all soon! Ben