Will this morning we got off to a bit of a false start with having travelled for 15 minutes past the last set of traffic lights for the 200 km or so before Queenstown and having stopped to fill the Magic Bus up with diesel we had to return to Nelson to pick up 4 people who had been left behind.

[thumb:1275:r][thumb:1276:r]The best stop of the day was the Punakali rocks.  It was amazing tha the rocks were just layered like pancakes.[newline]

The stop for the night, Greymouth, itself didn’t have much to offer other than it was there and the end of the railway line over from Christchurch. 

Having left my bags at the YHA I went off on the Brewery tour at the Monteiths Brewery joining up with Briony, Roxie and Bev again.  Quite an aroma and a suprise in the amount of caustic they use for cleaning stuff.  [thumb:1280:rl][thumb:1285:r] A surprise for me was that though the hops are grown in New Zealand with some of the barley coming from the Canterbury plains they also import barley from the UK to make Kiwi beer.

[thumb:1291:r]Afterwards we stopped off for an all you could eat BBQ and a spot of dancing.  However after 4 sausages I knew that I wasn’t up for trying at the record for 36 sausages eaten.

Having spent the night in Nelson I took the opportunity today to visit the Abel Tasman Park. So as see as much as possible I went for the half day walk followed by a half day of kayaking. This meant another early start. My holiday doesn’t seem to have any lie ins involved.

With me were Bev, Claire, Megan, Roxie and Briony. Strange to be the only bloke amongst five girls. But then again this is a Magic Tour and not the Kiwi Experience.[thumb:1258:I][newline]

After arriving at Kiwi Kayaks it was on to a Aquataxi to head up the coast to Torrents Bay for the walking part of the day. On the way we had the chance to take a picture of an impressive rock feature from the boat.  [thumb:1262:I][newline]

Moving on further up the coast it was off the back of the boat it was onto a golden sandy beach. In fact my first New Zealand beach and it was a pretty one.[thumb:1265:l][newline]

The Abel Tasman Park is very picturesque with plenty of greenary and views of the sea. Along our route down to Anchorage Bay and Watering Cove we took a detour to have a look at the pretty Cleopartra’s Pool.[thumb:1256:l][newline]

After lunching at Anchorage Bay it was over the head land to Watering Cove where we met up with Kiwi Kayaks again. Buddied up with me in my kayak was Roxie. Unfortunately for me she decided to that I was going to do all the steering and she would keep a lookout up front.

Our two hour paddle was punctuated by Briony, Roxies travelling buddy and Bev in one kayak and Claire and Sam in another ramming and generally getting in our way and preventing us making good progress. :p The sea however was very calm allowing us to get up to a good speed. Our Irish guide gave us an excellent history of the various coves and how they came to be named and why the Abel Tasman Park existed.

In the trees hanging over the cliffs we spotted a large number of cormorants with some of them spreading their wings to dry them out. There were numerous gulls sitting on the rocks picking on each other.

Eventually it came to an end and out we had to get. There’s still the chance that I’ll be able to get to do some more kayaking this holiday though.

Today I left the North Island of New Zealand behind. [thumb:1051:r]Taking the Interislander ferry Kaitaki the journey took just over three hours. A little bumpy at times whilst crossing the Cook Straits but not worse than some of the cross channel ferry journey’s I had in the past. [thumb:1241:r][newline] What was really suprising is that the Kaitaki is the former P&O Pride Of Cherbourg. [thumb:1242:r]Little did I expect to travel half way across the world and find a ship that has done the same only in recent years.

Whilst driving through Havelock on the Magic Bus I spotted the Red Dragon Wagon of the couple I keep bumping into parked up. Quite distictive it could only be them as one furry die had fallen off.[thumb:1243:i][newline]

Arriving in Nelson I quickly checked into the YHA before heading off to the World Of Wearable Art. I was very surprised to find in the foyer of the gallery a Robin Reliant in the livery of Trotter Independent Trading of Peckham Rye. Again not something that i expected to find half the world away.

The exhibtion of the wearable art was fascinating especially the video of the best bra award from the competition up in Auckland. I’m not sure that too many ladies would want to go out with a bra looking like the heads of two pigs or with a rotating propellor attached to each cup. But then again it is art.

Today I continued my journey south through New Zealand boarding the Magic Bus and leaving Taupo. 

The bus take the same road as the one that I had taken the day before to tackle the Tongariro crossing.  This time Mount Tongariro had a fresh covering of snow.  Clearly today it would not be possible to tackle tackle it without alpine climbing equipment.  Just two days ago people were able to climb both Mounts Tongariro and Ngauruhoe.

Having arrived in Wellington it is clear that is really the windy city.  Having arrived late in the afternoon it was a rush getting to the New Zealand National Museum, Te Papa and having a decent look round.  I guess I only manged to see a quarter of the exhibitions that were on and some of those I was only skimming through due to lack of time but it certainly is an impressive place giving both physical, natural and cultural histories of New Zealand.  I was particulally impressed by the outdoor exhbition of the different fauna through the island. 

The 17km Tongariro Crossing is described as the best one day walk in New Zealand and perhaps one of the best in the world so made it on to the list of things I had to do whilst in Taupo.

The walk up over the saddle between two active volcanoes Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe, which appeared in the Lord Of The Rings Films as Mount Doom. It’s not just two volcanoes that feature in the walk but craters and lakes and.

It was up for an early start to meet the 5:40 am coach to take me over to the start of the Tongariro Crossing. As we approached the mountains I could see snow on their tops making me realise how high we were going up. [thumb:1225:l]The weather forecast was threatening that a cold front could arrive later that would mean that I wouldn’t be able to complete the crossing. Fingers crossed I hope that the clear view that I had would persist.

At around 8 am we arrived at the start of the walk. This area reminded me of moorland with its lack of trees and extensive scrub. [thumb:1227:l]Donning my gloves and hat and zipping off my jacket I set off.

As we neared the volcanoes I spotted slabs of pummice lying on the landscape amongst the grass and streams. On Dartmoor these would be out of place completely. The sun was coming up and the day was warm so off came the sweater, hat and coats. Mount Ngauruhoe was dodging in and out of the clouds.

At this point the ground began to rise up more steeply and we came to the last set of toilets before the main climb. At this point the ground changed from being grassey to just being rocky with the going begining to get tougher and the temperature begining to drop. After climbing for a while the walk reached an empty plateau with on the far side the climb up the wall of the red crater. At this point the hat, sweater, coat were all back on again. This part was relatively easy as the ground was level. The amount of snow lying around surprised me but added to its beauty.[thumb:1223:l]

There is an option to climb Mount Ngauruhoe summit at this point but we had been warned not to with the weather and at this point looking up the summit had disappeared into the cloud so on it was towards the red crater. [thumb:1232:l]

Climbing up the wall of the Red Crater the wind began to pick up speed and I could feel the wind chill on my cheeks. The climb steeper than before was made more intimidating by the steep drops either side of the path. Getting close to the top one couple turned back. This was in my view a mistake as we had been advised to turn back at the bottom of the wall if the weather looked bad but if over the top to keep going as the far side is sheltered from the wind and they were so close.

At the top of the ridge the winds died off and the visibility came into only about 30 m. Both summits were out of sight for most of the time in the greyness of the cloud apart from brief breaks were they appeared. [thumb:1231:l][newline] Climbing back down again the far side was much easier than climbing up as the ground had far less large rocks but more sand. Descending the Emerald Lakes and the Red Crater came into view with the Blue Lake coming in and out of view in the distance amongst the passing clouds along with the chance to get some photographs with views.

Again at the bottom was another flat area with snow patches beforea shot climb up to the Blue Lake. After the climb and descent to the Red Crater this was far more relaxing. Walking down from the Blue Lake vegetation began to appear, the sun was out and people were having lunch out of the wind. Compared to the crossing of the saddle it was another world.

The walk down the hill was long and windy keeping one guessing at when the path would actually reach the hut I could see below. Coming down further the path entered a forest and air began to warm up. Again it was another world with trees, streams and the sound of birds. Spotting the bollards that marked the end of the route was relief knowing that I could put my feet up and wait for the coach to pick me up and take me to Taupo.[thumb:1224:l]

Arriving back at the YHA in Taupo I bumped into a girl you’d just arrived on the Magic Bus that afternoon. She’d been disappointed to find that the crossing was now closed till Friday due to poor weather.

On Wednesday driving down to Wellington we could see that overnight that there had been fresh snow fall over Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe making feel very clad that I had been able to get up there before it arrived. The bus driver also pointed out the third volcano in the area Moutn Ruapehu which had had a small eruption three weeks early with only 60 seconds warning on the monitoring equipment. Scary to think that it is a major site for New Zealand’s ski industry.

Today I said goodbye to Rotorua. First stop on the road was the Lady Knox geyser with it’s guaranteed eruption at 10:15 am where they put a bar of soap down it and it does it stuff.[thumb:1193:l][thumb:1196:l][thumb:1197:l][newline]

Following on from this the Magic Bus stoped at Wai-O-Tapu thermal wonderland. Quite an interesting tour of the thermal springs but perhaps a little over rated. Bumped into the couple with the red Dragon Wagon again. They’ve still yet to find the neons on their ride. I’m sure I’ll bump into them again at some point.

Carrying on we made a brief stop at the Haka falls. I was astounded by the brilliant blue colour of the water and the rate at which the water comes over the falls.[thumb:1216:l][newline]

As the weather was good I decided it would be a good opportunity to do a sky dive so along with four other people on the bus we went over to Taupo Tandem Skydiving. I was the only fool up for doing the 15,000 ft drop as opposed to the 12,000ft. I had decided that I would rather spend my money on a longer freefall rather than getting it filmed. If I really liked it I can always do it again I thought.

It was an amazing experience coming out of the plane and free falling for a minute. A bit of a roller coaster as the instructor does everything and you’re there just for the ride. Once we broke through the cloud we had an amazing view over Lake Taupo. The weather wasn’t clear enough to see from coast to coast but the mountains could be seen to be touching the sky.[thumb:1219:l][newline]

Tomorrow I’m off to tackle the Tongariro Crossing. Should be amazing as it is supposedly one of the best hikes in the world.

Well it was up early and feeling much more refreshed than the previous two days.  I hitched a lift with the Magic Bus over to the i-Site where I took a hopper bus over to Agroworld to say hello to the sheep for Kirsty and to find out for Paula whether they’re the same as the ones back home.  [thumb:1185:l][thumb:1187:l][newline]

 Having completed my educational excursion it was a 100 yard walk down the road to the highlight of the day, Zorbing.

Only the hydrozorb was available which made my choice simple as the dry option was picking up too much speed.  In I dived into the zorb with a bit more water added.  Being adventerous and on my own I picked the wibbly wobbly route.  [thumb:1176:l][thumb:1178:l][newline] Even in the hydrozorb I picked up enough speed to jump the dividing line between the main course and the wibbly wobbly one that I was supposed to be following.  I had been expecting to come out damp but instead soaking wet.  Very good fun.[thumb:1183:l][thumb:1184:l][thumb:1188:l][newline]

Next off my plan was to see some Kiwis.  I was lucky enough to get a lift with a couple I had met the day before at the underground aventure over to Rainbow springs were there is a centre.  The rid that they had hired was bright red Dragon Wagon camper van complete with tinted windows, party lights, furry dice, neon lighting and what the wanted air conditioning. 

It was interesting to see a real Kiwi and sad to hear that they have suffered such a decline.  I also took the opportunity to have a look round and sample the Rainbow Springs.  There is a fascinating collection of fauna there.

 After this is was up the cable car besides Rainbow Springs to the top of the hill overlooking Rotorua.  Out I got and onto the Sky Swing to get a bit more height.  Accelerated to 120 km/hr it was quite a thrill especially as I got to pull the cord to let us go.

Before I came down I had a go on the Luge, a sort of go-kart downhill on a concrete track, quite good fun but much tamer than events earlier that day.  After that it was back to the YHA.

Day two of my holiday in New Zealand has seen me joining the Magic Bus and leaving Auckland.  First stop was Mount Eden, one of the extinct volcanoes overlooking Auckland.  Had a good view from the top taking in Auckland below us and could quite clearly see the surprising large number of cones surrounding Auckland. [thumb:1162:l].[newline]

The next stops were in Waitomo, first off was an Angora Rabbit farm where were got to witness rabbits being sheared.  [thumb:1164:l][thumb:1166:l].  [newline]

Then it was on to Cave World where we took a trip underground togged up in wetsuits, gum boots and hard hats.  [thumb:1663:l][thumb:1157:l].  The area around Waitomo is limestone so over the years many caves have developed as the water has eaten away the rocks.  Many sink holes litter the landscape so you have to tread with care in palces. 

[thumb:1158:r]Going underground there was a bit of a scrabble through some tight gaps and but pretty awesome sight of glow worms living on the roof of the caverns.  [newline]

[thumb:1160:l][thumb:1161:r]Part of the trip was floating down an underground river through the limestone rock.  A couple of jumps and a slide added to the excitment.  A bit cold at the end of it I was glad to climb back up top and into the sunshine.  . An interesting experience that I’ve not had before.

Finally arrived in Rotorua and went to a recreation of a traditional Maori village where we were introduced to traditional Maori greetings and had a meal cooked in the traditional Hanghi style.  At the end of this I was pretty tired as I was still suffering a bit from jet lag.

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After a 24 hour flight via Hong Kong I have arrived in Auckland New Zealand. 

Not waiting around I’ve already got myself a mobile phone number, done a 192m jump, lasting 11 seconds, off the Skytower, [thumb:1153:l][thumb:1678:l][thumb:1679:l][newline] I’ve also booked myself on the Magic Tour to take me to Waitomo to do the Black Water rafting and then onto Rotorowa where I’m looknig to give Zorbing a go.

Made a new friend on the plane Cheryl who’s a Kiwi lass. She’s given me a list of things that I should do or eat in New Zealand whilst I’m here. When I pass through Wellington I will look her up.

I’m a bit lagged out at the moment but still trying to keep myself up to 10 pm local time so I can wake up at the right time tomorrow morning rather than 2 am in the morning. A struggle as I didn’t get a good nights sleep last night.