North Island

We travelled up the West cost, past Franz Joseph and all the kiwi experience kids, taking a swift drive through Greymouth and Westport, which are probably the most backward towns in New Zealand. We managed to book ourselves into the dingles back yard campsite, bumping into some crazy Kiwi's who ran around the kitchen with knives with tomotoe sauce on! and a travelling circus of grunge kids! So that was exciting. We stopped off at Punaukawai to look at the blow holes and pancake rocks, named so due to the layers of erosion (all the geography is coming back... Mr Stock would be so proud!) Ann spent the whole time casing around a women who looked like her mum, and was quite dissapointed when there were no actual pancakes... bless... northeners, they just don't get the same education us southerns do. Only joking.

We drove across country and stopped in Nelson, a place we had been told was slightly more lively, so we planned a big night in town, only to be met with a crazy Thai restaurant owner who preached about world peace and saving the children and then threw 300 dollars at us, to prove that money was only paper! We do seem to be meeting the odd ones. Our night out was interesting to say the least, i'm still convinced someone had transported me back to Jumpin Jaks in Romford though!

After a short drive to Picton, via Malborough Sounds, we caught the last ferry over to the North Island for the next few days (thank god we made it to civilisation). I am only kidding about the South Island, it is absolutly beautiful, just slightly remote.

Wellington was probably the quietest Capital I have been to, it could have even been Sheffield, minus the students. After waking up in a car park again and checking into another backward hostel with diagonal walkways all over the roof to the bathrooms, we took a trip to Nando's a welcome change from pasta or rice.

We then drove up to Lake Taupao, past the Tonogorio national park, where there are tree volcanoes... I was quite dissapointed as it was too cloudy to see anything.
Lake Taupao is the largest lake in New Zealand and is quite picturess. I decided to jump out of a perfectly good plane (as Sally describes it), at the World's cheapest skydiving centre... not sure how much of an achievement that is! So that was pretty exciting, it all feels like a dream now.
In the afternoon we drove to Routroa, which we all loved, staying at a lovely campsite on the lake with hot springs baths. We took Kayaks out on the lake in the sun (shock horror yes there is sun on the North Island). We then took a horse trek through farmyards and hills, leaving us all with sore bums today.

We have headed up past Auckland now to Nordland for our last few days in New Zealand, before I fly to Melbourne.

I hope all is well.

Lots of Love
Jen xxx