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.