Taupo to Wellington

The bus dropped us off in Taupo for a few days as there's lots to see and do - not so much to see and do if it rains for two days though. Some had booked to do their skydives here as its the cheapest place to do it in the country. Our informative bus driver told us it was because all the aeroplanes used were originally worked as crop sprayers over farmland - random fact of the day. As this was subsequently cancelled most of the folks decided it was better to have a good night on the town to make up for the dissapointment. The next day I went on a bit of a walk around the huge lake which is apparently the largest freshwater one in Oceania (second random fact). Lovely views across to the Northern alps.

The following days' bus ride took us through some fantastic countryside - some of it reminded me of Wales - especially with all the sheep around. That was until you suddenly see a palm in a field and realise the mountains are too high. We stoppoed for a nice walk in Tongariro park where alot of filming for Lord of the Rings took place. We then travelled on through some impressive volcanically-shaped countryside to get to River Valley. The place we stayed in was a really cool little lodge in the middle of nowhere which provided some of the best white water rafting money can buy. But guess what - that was cancelled too. Again, the combined disapointment of the group was made up for with a night on the beer. In the morning, I joined a few of the lads with a round of golf on the lodges' 9 hole course. This was pretty unique in golfing terms as the fairways are grazed by sheep. No need for Mountfields if you're a true Kiwi.

The next leg of the journey took us to le capital - Wellington. It was a visit of the fleeting variety as we arrived 7pm and left at 9am the following morning. From what little I saw of the city I could tell it was small - yet it seemed to be nicer looking than Auckland. Again, more karaoke was on the cards that night and a few us awoke a bit bleary eyed for the morning departure. We took the interisland ferry and said farewell to the north island. The ferry took us through the beautiful Marlborough Sounds at the Northeast tip of the south island. Thankfully it was a smooth crossing as the Cook Straits have been known to be very choppy at this time of year. That almost brings things up to date.

Mercury Bay to Waitomo

After returning to Auckland, I set off on the Kiwi bus to get round the North Island. The bus was really full - mostly with young brits but also some Germans and one or two other nationalities. Our new driver was a rugby-loving part Maori guy who was keen to tell us about his ancestral heritage as we drove along. We stopped at Cathedral cove on the Coromandel peninusula on the first day. Its a lovely stretch of coastline there and the weather was great too - far too warm to be called winter. Anyhow, first overnight stop was at Mercury bay where I got to know some of my new 'busmates'. Going to a ropey karaoke bar was good fun and was particularly enjoyed by some of the German crew. Next day the bus was going south to Rotorua - the place that famously smells of rotten eggs. Whilst there I undertook my first exciting (although not classed as 'extreme') activity of luging. This involved hurtling down a concrete track on a hillside in what was basically a plastic tray on wheels (thankfully included brakes) and was enjoyed by everyone. I decided not to go to the Maori cultural event in the evening as I thought it was too pricey. I need to find some cheaper activites as everythings so expensive when compared to similar activities in Asia. The next day we called in at the Agrodome which is basically a farm park where townies (and oddly lots of Chinese tourists) go to see farm-based activites. Some on the bus were nursing hangovers from the night before - not ideal for anyone who had planned to go zorbing.

Next stop was the famous Waitomo caves where the amazing glowworms live. I went on a 2 hour guided tour and saw lots of impressive stalactites and plenty of bioluminous glowworms. Some people on the bus booked to go on an 'extreme' abseiling and caving trip but it was called off the following day because it rained heavily overnight. Thats the trouble with being here in the winter I suppose.

Bay of Islands to Cambridge

So here I am, yet again well behind on the blog updates. Catch up time. After leaving Auckland (now sometime ago) I headed upto the Bay of Islands on the Kiwi bus. Whilst there I went around the place with a lad from Birmingham and tried to see as much of the surrounding countryside as possible. Unfortunately the weather was pretty rubbish so we decided not to bother with taking a pricey boat trip around the islands themselves. Instead we took mountain bikes from our hostel and explored the surrounding countryside which, when the weather improved, was lovely. Whilst walking to a nearby waterfalls on the first day we met a guy called Frank from the US. This guy was nearly 80, had broken his leg just over a year ago and had one or two hip replacements. Despite this, he hiked along at lightning pace over some rather tough terrain whilst at the same time telling us his life story - quite a character.

A few days later I returned to Auckland and decided to take a seperate bus to see the Nixons (family friends) in a town that was about two hours south of the city. Whilst leaving the hostel to catch the bus I was in a shop to grab a drink when a girl walked in who looked familiar. It turned out to be a girl from the year above in school - small world and all that!

Whilst in Cambridge I was kindly taken around by Colin and Val to several places - including a local pub in the town where Colin and I sampled a fair few of the local beverages. Some old boys propping up the bar heard that I had played bowls back home so I was asked to play for the local club on the sunday which turned out to be a good day (after I regained a bit of form on the green). Cambridge is a nice little town that has a bit of old time charm about it.
On the Saturday, I met up with a lad who was another Welshpool ex-pat who is working on a dairy farm in a nearby town. So we met up and had few beers and talked for ages about 'the good old days' at school. This town turned out to be 'Hobbiton' of Lord of the Rings fame.

So all in all it turned out to be a nice introduction to life in NZ, and I was glad to see a few familiar faces from back home too.

Auckland

So, here I am in NZland. The weather has been pretty messy for the last few days but I hear its getting better (eventually). My first port of call was to the countrys' biggest city - Auckland. My digs were right inthe city centre. Whilst tehre I met up with some fellow backpackers who were to start their bus travel on the kiwi experience, we found out to our surprise that apparently the bus has a bit of a 'reputation' as being the 'party' bus. I doubt il be able to keep up with too many boozy 18 year olds going out all the time (now I really do sound like an old man). My ticket will take me right around north and south island and works as a 'hop on and hop off' ticket which is handy.

On the first day I joined a group visit to the main museum of Auckland. It was excellent inside. It ranged from Maouri culture to the role of kiwis in the war and lots of natural history too. We walked past the iconic sky tower and resisted the oppurtunity to bungy off the side of it. Everywhere you go theres adverts for bungies, zorbing, skydives and any other 'extreme' sport that someone's just made up. When talking to other travellers the general consensus is to head out of Auckland as quick as you can. Then as soon as you've left the concrete jungle behind you can take in some real New Zealand - and there sure is alot of it to explore...

Melbourne

Ahh good old Oz. Wish i'd spent more time there really. I spent two days exploring the uber-cosmopolitan city of Melbourne as a stop-off before going to NZ. I got there early and didnt really sleep on the plane so was rather bog-eyed. After a good power nap I caught a tram into the city centre and took in some of the sites. The National Art gallery provided a good dose of aussie culture. From Aboroiginal paintings to Victorian era artwork of the early European immigrants. It seemed so odd to be down under during their winter - I didnt think Australians actually owned hats and gloves for some reason. The place was very trendy - Levis and Lattes (of the skinny variety) were everywhere. I stayed in the hip side of town in St Kilda which is also where all the backpacker enclaves are.

On Day 2 I took a walk along St Kilda pier. Whilst there I saw some Little Blue penguins hiding under some rocks. They were really tiny. After that I made my way to the spectacular MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) to see a game of Aussie Rules football. The place was packed out with 90000 fans that provided a great atmosphere. Two local teams from Melbourne were playing - it took me a while to figure out what on earth was going on but it was fun to watch nonetheless. The hostel where I stayed was a bit of a noisy young studenty place but I had to get up at 4 the next morning to get to the airport.

Singapore

Apologies for the delay in catching up on the blog, its been tricky trying to get the internet access for more than three minutes at a time. Singapore was a city like none other, thats for sure. Its just incredibly organised and structured. Modern transport, efficient and on-time which is good. The residents are mostly Chinese but there are also loads of peole from Indian decent too.

I stayed at Ulrikas' (Ellens sister) flat on the outskirts of town - it was great to stay in somewhere other than a guesthouse. Upon arrival in the city, I went with Ulrika to go to a nearby Brazilian resteraunt. The food there was amazing - ive never eaten so much roast beef before - they literally pile your plates up (fantastic) - It was great to get away from rice and noodles.
The first day there I took the chance to explore the city centre. I wandered through Chinatown and Little India and then saw the modern side to the city. I entered the IMO shopping centre to observe the Singaporeans no. 1 pastime - shopping. I couldnt find my way out of the place for literally an hour - it was huge! Later on I met Ulrika and went to the top of the Suissotel (75 floors) to take in some great views of the city. We then proceeded onto the infamous Raffles hotel for a Singapore sling (very fruity).
The second day was spent at the zoo as I thought I'd see something a little different. It was very good - lots to see. Highlight was the Orang Utans - you can even have breakfast with them if you're there early enough. Later on I headed over to the airport at the start of what was to be a very 'international' couple of days.