Franz Josef

On the way to Franz Josef we stopped in Hokitika for breakfast. A bit later we stopped again in Ross a gold mining town established during the gold rush of the 1880s. We had a demonstration of panning for gold - you had to have a lot of patience so I decided not to give it a go. One guy on the bus tried and ended up with quite a few specks - they put it into a tube for you and you get to keep it. For lunch I tried Possum pie - it's wierd because in Australia they are a protected animals but everyone in New Zealand hates them because they are not native and eat huge areas of forest. You can also buy lots of Possum fur items.

We arrived at Franz Josef and checked into our hostel - Chateau Franz - yet again it was really nice place surrounded by mountains.

I had originally planned to do the full day glacier hike but was persuaded to do the Heli-hike. It was a gorgeous afternoon so I headed out there and then.

If any of you are thinking - "What is a glacier?" well....

Glaciers are more or less permanent bodies of ice and compacted snow that have become deep enough and heavy enough to flow under their own weight. The Franz Josef is a glacier located in Westland National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. The glacier is currently 12 kilometres long and the flow rate is about 10 times that of typical glaciers

The hike was one of the best things I've done on the trip so far. First we got kitted out with jackets, gloves, boots and spikes then headed up to the glacier by Helicopter. I absolutely loved the ride as we shot over the glacier - the pilot gave a comentary on all we were seeing - he also did some crazy turns which some people hated but I absolutely loved. As you can see I managed to get some great shots from the helicopter.





We landed high up in the middle of the glacier where we met our hiking guide.



We fitted our spikes and followed the guide around a pre-carved trail. The ice landscape was absolutely incredible. There was quite a lot of photo stops as we walked around for a few hours - we saw blue ice and ice caves.



We had to crawl through some really narrow gaps and our last challenge was to crawl through an ice tunnel.



Unfortunately I got stuck behind some idiot who knew he was claustrophobic but went into the tunnel anyway and freaked out so the guide had to pull him out.

When we looped back to the start point we were collected by the helicopter and flown down back to town - I'd definately recommend this trip to anyone.



Next day I decided to take it easy - the weather was terrible and I was so glad I had changed my mind and not booked the full day hike! We found some Premiership football on TV and watched the film Anchor Man which was pretty funny.

We headed out that night - one of the guides was leaving so there was quite a few people out. We left the first pub and had just arrived at the second at 9.30 when the barmaid called time - unfortunately for her the big crowd from the first pub all turned up and she had to stay open.

Early next morning we headed off towards Queenstown.

Greymouth

The journey to Greymouth was pretty good. Our first stop was at a Seal Colony where we stretched our legs.


Next we stopped in the Paparoa National Park on a nice walk down to the beach on the Truman track.



Our final stop of the day was at Punakaiki where we saw the Pancake rocks - there were blowholes there too but the tide was in the wrong position for us to see them.



In Greymouth we stayed in a hostel called the Noah's Ark. Each room had a different animal theme - I stayed in the tiger room - there was a toy tiger in the fireplace. At some point the tiger was kidnapped and was shortly replaced by a penguin - pointing the finger at the girls in the Penguin room.

I only stayed at Greymouth one night as there was not much going on. Practically the whole bus did the Monteith’s brewery tour. We had a look around the brewery then got to try all the different beers:

> Black Beer
> Celtic Beer
> Golden Lager
> Original Ale
> Pilsner Beer
> Radler Bier
> Winter Ale

We also got to try a special beer that didn't have a name yet but was being entered into a competition. At the end of the tasting we all got to pull our own beers for about 15 minutes before heading off to a BBQ organised by the brewery. It was an all you could eat sausage BBQ - aparently the record of 37 was held by a Maori guy. I managed 6 and was full. As part of the deal we also got a Mega Pint free (a bit bigger than a UK pint). We held onto the glass for the night and paid the same price for mega pints as everyone else was paying for handles.

We headed for the glaciers next morning.

Nelson

From Kaikoura I travelled on to Nelson. We made a couple of stops on the way the first was at a waterfall - when we got closer though we saw that there were loads of baby seals playing in the water at the bottom of the falls with no parents in sight.





We stopped again to change buses at Picton. In the afternoon we stopped at the Mud House winery in the Marlborough Wine Region for a free tasting organised by the Magic Bus. I ended up buying a bottle of red.

I stayed in another nice hostel, the Paradiso. It had a swimming pool and spa pool - you could also order Thai meals which only cost 2 pounds! On the first night we watched X-men 3. One of the lads in the hostal had worked on some the digital effects for the film.

Next day we were up bright and early to go into the Abel Tasman National Park. The driver dropped us off in the park and we took a water taxi up the coast to the start of a walk. The weather was fine and the walk was supposed to take 4 hours however it took us about 2 and a half so we had to wait around for the bus to collect us. The park was OK but there wasn't much to see apart from some cliff top views and a bit of forest.




That night we decided to see what the Nelson nightlife had to offer. It was Friday night but all the pubs were dead. We had lots of drinks vouchers from the hostel and found a hotel bar with a live band. After the band we saw this strange neon sign down the street for somewhere called Rock Bar - we decided to check it out - it was just a normal club but it was packed and they were playing videos to go with the music on a big screen. Finally headed home ready for the journey to Greymouth the next day.

Christchurch and Kaikoura

I just stayed in Christchurch for one night before heading on to Kaikoura as I fly out of Christchurch to Sydney so will have more time there when I complete the South Island loop.

When we arrived at Kaikoura we stopped at a lookout point and had an excellent view out to sea and over the town. I stayed in the Dusky Lodge which was a great hostel - there is a mobile Thai restaurant which sets up next to the swimming pool.

In the afternoon I walked along to the seal colony. There was quite a few seals just lazing around in the carpark and down by the rocks on the sea front - you have to keep well back from them though as apparently they can turn nasty!



We decided to do the cliff top walk which got quite hairy as it was a windy day. At one point the footpath completely dissapeared due to the tide and we thought that we were going to double back but we managed to climb over some rocks and pick up the path again.

After the walk we decided we'd earned a pint or to so checked out the local bars. Fortunately the first hotel bar we went into had a roaring log fire to warm us up.

Next day I went whale watching - I opted for the flight as it was only 10 dollars more expensive than the boat trip. The plane was a 4 seater and I got to sit in the front. There was no guarantee that we were going to see anything and about 20 minutes in to the flight I thought we were going to be out of luck when a Whale surfaced - it was a Sperm Whale and was absolutely huge. Shortly after another one appeared and we were able to move between the two really quickly with the plane. They stay on the surface for a little while then do a shallow dive before doing a deep dive. The pilot could predict exactly when the first whale was going to dive and even did a countdown - the whales tail stuck up in the air before it dissapeared.

The photos aren't that good but you can get an idea of the size of the things by comparing them to the people on the boats.




After a safe landing we got a lift back to town but decided to stop off at the Kaikoura Winery. We did a tasting and a tour. The view from the tasting room was amazing. The wines were mostly white but there was one red - a Pinot Noir there was also a Kaikoura cream liqueur made with a wine base instead of the traditional whiskey base.



After the winery we watched a film before taking advatage of the poolside Thai restaurant. That night we headed out for a pub quiz. Our team name was Norlfolk Enchants and we had a girl on our team who had been on Blockbusters and held the record for the fastest Gold Run. We won but I don't think we'd have come close without Blockbuster girl! We won lots of free beer and noone was looking forward to the walk home as it was freezing and the hostel was a bit out of town - however it turned out that the barman randomly had a minibus and was staying at our hostel so ferried us all home - quality!

Mount Maunganui, Hahei and Whitianga

It was a long driving day to get to the Mount as we stopped at Taupo and Rotorua. We stopped for two and a half hours in Rotorua and I was a bit stuck for things to do as I'd already spent two full days there.

We arrived in Mount Maunganui at the Pacific Coast Lodge & Backpackers. This was the best hostel I have stayed in so far - instead of packing you off to your room they invite you to the Kitchen for tea/coffee, biscuits and Pizza first. The hostel was spotless and the family who ran it were very friendly.

Mount Maunganui was the one place I have visited in New Zealand where I wished I could have spent a bit more time because as well as the great hostel the beaches were amazing and I would have liked to have climbed up the Mount itself.

Next morning I set off to do the Coromandel Connection. Our first stop was Hot Water Beach where you can dig in the sand for hot spring water and make your own spa pool apparently - however it was high tide when we visited so it was rubbish. Driving along the coast line to our next stop Hahei and Cathedral Cove there were some spectacular views.



We stopped at the carpark and there was a 45 minute walk to get to the cove where there was a white sand beach and a large cathedral like cavern which forms a tunnel through the headland.



We left the cove and drove to our stop off point for the evening - Whitianga (pronounced fiddy-anga!). I stayed in a hostel called The Cats Pajamas - I think the place had been caught in a time warp and the TV looked like it was one of the first colour sets ever made! We went to the pub to watch the All Blacks play Australia - although I wasn't that interested in the game at first it was quite entertaining and by the end I got quite into it. There was a good atmosphere in the pub and loads of people were drinking from pint servers called "the Barmaid" which held about 5 pints - a great invention! The All Blacks won although it was a close game and were Tri Nation champions.

Next day I headed back to Auckland to complete my tour of the North Island. I stayed at Base - when I arrived it was mayhem as the cleaners were frantically trying to tidy up after the aftermath of the people celebrating the All Blacks win.

Next I fly down to Christchurch on the South Island - I picked up the flight for about 50 quid.

A Night in Prison

We had an overnight stop in Napier and some of us decided to stay in a converted prison.



It was an entertaining place to spend one night - I had my own cell and you could walk around the whole site - including the hanging yard. There was lots of stories about former inmates up on the wall. It was a good experience but I'm glad I was only staying one night as the toilets and shower block were outside and it was freezing.

That evening I had a bit of time to look around Napier which is famous for its art deco buildings. The town was flattened by an earthquake in the early 1930’s was rebuilt in the style of the time – and now is known as "The Art Deco capital of the world" (apparently!)

Next morning we headed off for Mount Maunganui.

Wellington

My first night in Wellington started with a pub crawl around some of the Irish bars so my first full day started quite late.

I stayed in Base Wellington which was very dissapointing. After staying in Auckland and Rotorua at Base which I thought were really good I thought Base Wellington would be more of the same - I was wrong! The staff were strange - one guy marked the Base location on a map for me and I was glad I had marked some other stuff on there from the Lonely Planet as he had marked it about 3 streets away. My door key card stopped working a grand total of 7 times and the Kitchen was rancid (rant over!)

I had good room mates in the hostel - an Irish lad and a guy from Chile. One day the Irish lad a girl friend visiting and he was joking because his bed was a mess and I'd made mine all neat and tidy. However I have learned my lesson that a tidy bed is not a good idea in a hostel - when I returned that night at first I thought no-one was in the room until I looked down on my bunk and there was a new bloke fast asleep in my bed!! I managed to wake him up and get him shifted onto the empty bunk(he was drunk and very confused which was quite entertaining!)but now I always leave the bed unmade and my pack on top!!

I headed for the Lord of the Rings exhibition at the Te Papa museum. It was pretty good exhibition with costumes and models from the film as well as loads of concept art. There was also video clips featuring the actors as well as some from the special effects guys telling you how some of the effects were created. There was a lot of stuff about how they made the hobbit actors look small using camera techniques.

Other stuff I saw included:

A huge model of Minas Tirith which had been created for longshots but had been so good that they had used it for close up panning shots.

A lifesize model of Boromir dead lying in the boat - Weta the special effects company had to make this model after the main filming was complete as Jackson wanted a shot of the boat being launched onto the river and it was not possible to get Sean Bean back to New Zealand.

A Cave Troll model smashing through a wall.

A Tree Beard model and a presentation about how they had combined the model with digitally animated footage.

There was also a section on "Massive" a program created especially for the films. The program allows huge armies to fight on the screen without the need to animate each soldier separately. Each digital soldier is assigned a behaviour pattern and can move and react independently.

The next day I had a bit of time to walk around Wellington. I caught the cable car up to the botanic garden and walked around the parks and gardens back down into the city. In the afternoon I went back to the Te Papa museum which is free!

Some of the stuff I saw:

Blood Earth Fire - about how the landscape of New Zealand has changed since the arrival of the first settlers.

Awesome Forces - The story of New Zealand’s dramatic landscape and the part that earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the weather play in its shaping.

Mountains to Sea - New Zealand's diverse range of creatures and plants.

Bush City - which takes you outside on a short walk through a recreated natural world.

The Marae - a carved meeting place mixing traditional Moari carving with more modern design.

One of the strangest things I saw was a film about the key moments in the life of New Zealand. You enter the 'theatre' through an old junk shop and the items in the junk shop come alive as the film plays!

Theres also loads of stuff on Moari history and the culture of the Pacific Islands.

On my last day in Wellington I did the Wellington Movie tour.

There was only 4 of us on this tour which took us out to see some of the Lord of the Rings filming locations around Wellington.

We left the centre of the city and travelled north through the Hutt Valley, stopping along the way to see where the Mines of Moria, Dead Marshes, Flooded Isengard, Osgiliath and Court of the Kings scenes were filmed. The first stop was very dissapointing as the site was just a car park and could have been anywhere really.

Fortunately after this the tour improved as we headed for Harcourt Park. Here we saw wherewhere Gandalf rode Shadowfax to meet with Saruman at the Tower of Orthanc, and where the two wizards talked in the garden. The guide had a laptop to show us the scenes so we could see exactly how the location was used.

We moved on to Kaitoke Regional Park stopping by the Hutt River North to see were the "Aragorn Washed Ashore" and "Departure of Boromir" scenes were filmed.

The Kaitoke Regional Park was were the Rivendell set was built and there are signs marking the way to the site.

The first picture is me chopping down the "Legolas tree" using a genuine Orc axe! The tree was used for promotional shots of the film - Legolas stands in front of it to shoot his bow.



We stopped at Rivendell for lunch and did a small walk around the park.

We then headed back towards Wellington City and stopped at the Dry Creek Quarry where the Helms Deep and Minas Tirith sets were built.

Back in Wellington we visited Mt Victoria for a walk in the woods to see where scenes including the Outer Shire, Hobbiton Woods, Dunharrow Plateau and Weathertop were filmed. This photo ("Get off the Road!")is where Frodo looks back up the road just before the Black Rider approaches.



During the tour we also drove through "Wellywood" where Park Road Post, Weta Workshop and Stone St Studios are based. When we passed Stone St Studios there was a big blue screen up in the lot where they were getting ready to film something no sign of any stars though!

We stopped at a wharf close to the studios where we saw the SS Venture used in King Kong.



From Wellington I headed North back up towards Auckland. The first stop on the way was Napier.

Taupo - Skydive and Tongariro Crossing

On the way to Taupo our first stop was at the Bubbling Mud Pools - In 1925 New Zealand’s largest mud volcano was eroded by heavy rain and you can now see bubbling, erupting mud which makes for some good photos!



We then stopped at the Lady Knox Geyser which erupts at 10.15 every morning. We were all a little suspicious of this however we discovered that it is triggered by soap introduced by a park guide which breaks the surface tension of the water causing the eruption. We learned that if left alone the geyser would erupt on a rough 24 hour cycle but it would be impossible to predict the time.



From the geyser when headed into Waiotapu Thermal Wonderland. This park was similar to Hells Gate but was spread over a much larger area with large boiling Champagne pools, craters, blowholes and colourful mineral terraces.

The highlights of the park were:

Collapsed Craters - formed over the last few hundred years by the action of acid water. The minerals mixed with the water create lots of different colours.



Champagne Pool - The name comes from the fact that the water is Champagne coloured and bubbles as carbon dioxide is discharged into the pool. There was a lot of steam around when we visited. Among the many minerals being deposited in the rock that surrounds the pool are antiimony, mercury, thallium, gold and silver.



Bird’s Nest Crater - This has been adopted by certain species of birds as an egg incubator.

Lake Ngakoro - A 750 year old crater lake.

There were many other cave and rock formations all around the park. There was even a lake where the water appeared bright green.

Back on route to Taupo we made a quick stop at the Huka Falls. At this point I decided to do a Sky Dive so was collected by the Tandem Skydive minibus and headed over to the airfield. Because the weather had been nice all day I was expecting to get out of the bus, gear up , get in the plane and jump - but unfortunately the clouds started to drift in.

The jumps were stop start all afternoon and I was begining to resign myself to the fact that I wouldn't get to jump when finally my name was called and I had to get suited up - complete with cap and goggles. We watched a safety video and I was introduced to my Jump Master - the guy I would be strapped onto for the tandem jump.

I slid onto the bench in the plane infront of the Jump Master and was attached by harness - we were sitting backwards in the plane as we left the ground and started to climb. Because the skydive was cheap in comparison to the UK I had opted for the 15,000 ft jump complete with DVD which meant a camera man would be jumping out with me. We climbed to 12,000 ft and the door rolled back and those jumping at the height slid out one by one - it was then I realised how cold it was up there. The doors closed and there was only two of us left to jump - the first guy went then it was my turn. The jump master controls the jump and you sit on the edge of the door with your feet dangling over the edge - pretty scary. In a second we tumbled out and I felt my body being pulled backwards into a roll - the instructor then pulled the stabalising chute and we entered freefall. The camera man was with us all the way and floated right up to me to shake my hand. The wind was really pressing into my face, then the main chute was pulled and the fall began to slow. I had lots more time then to admire the view as we spiralled towards the ground. The landing was fine at first but the camera crew and the people who are supposed to be there to catch the chute were too far away so we collapsed in a pile. After a final bit of filming on the ground we headed back to the hangar to get changed - we then made our way to the video room where they had edited a DVD for each of us. The DVD shows all the jumps from the plane and its good to see other peoples reactions. In the end I got a photo CD a DVD and a T-shirt to take away - A fantastic experience!

Checkout the photos:



(Oh my!! What's going on?)



(Admiring the view)



(Finally enjoying the ride.)

The hostel was really good - The Tiki lodge - it wasn't too crowded so it was easier to talk to people.

The next day I had signed up to do the Tongariro Crossing often described as the best one day walk in New Zealand.



I was picked up a 6.45 am to go to the start of the walk. The driver was an old guy who really should not have been driving never mind operating the stereo and his mobile phone at the same time - he drove off with the driver door open and jumped a couple of red lights before we arrived at the start of the walk to meet our guides.

The guides provided us with extra equipment such as waterproofs and fleeces, hats, gloves and sun glasses. We were also given ice axes and crampons as there would be a lot of snow and ice on the crossing. We set off at about 8.30 to join the track which runs the Mangatepopo Valley to the saddle between Tongariro and Ngauruhoe Mountains. Two lads joined the trek who had been staying out in a hut in the mountains overnight (mental!)

First we went through areas of light snow then the snow got thicker as we climbed higher. We also saw Mt Ruapehu used as Mordor and the seat of Sauron the lidless eye in Lord of the Rings!!

We climbed to Red Crater (1886m) where we stopped for lunch.


Even though there was snow everywhere on the the top of the mountain was hot earth which made a good seat. While we were having lunch it started to snow so we quickly finished our lunches and dropped down to the vivid Emerald Lakes. After passing the Green and Blue lakes the track sides around the northern slope of Tongariro, then descends in a zig zag to the Ketetahi Hut. The guide was really impressed by all the snow and reckoned it was one of the best snow falls he'd seen up there.

There were certain bits on the walk where we had to slide down steep slopes - I was glad I had borrowed a pair of waterproof trousers as although I looked like MC Hammer as they were 3 sizes too big they were great to slide in. As we slid down the slope we had to use our ice axes to slow our fall - great fun. When walking on the flat you had to stick your feet in the footprints and use your axe to keep your balance. Because the snow was fresh and there wasn't much ice we didn't use the crampons.


As we descended to the meeting point, down past the cloud line there were some stunning views of Lakes Taupo and Rotorua. We arrived at the pick-up point at the other side of the crossing at around 5pm and were met with a beer before the drive back to the hostel.

My last day in Taupo was free to look around and catch up on some Internet and Laundry. I thought I would take advantage of an offer advertised in one Internet place to do your washing whilst surfing the net. However this was not such a good idea as the guy running the place looked like (and sounded like) Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. I'm sure Comic Book Guy had not been near a washing machine before in his life. I reminded him to move the clothes to the dryer then he disapeared for the afternoon leaving a young kid in charge. Well the dryer turned out not to work so I had to carry the wet clothes back to my hostel and pay again to use their dryer!!

Rotorua

We arrived in Rotorua at about 6.20pm but had signed up for the Maori Cultural Experience and Hangi. I decided to stay at the Base Hostel as the one in Auckland had been pretty good - I checked in quickly and raced off to the reception for the Maori night starting at 6.30. I arrived just in time but realised I had forgotten my Camera - Doh!

It was a strange start to the evening as no one knew what was going on. From the reception we were taken through into a garden then to a theatre where we watched a film about the first Moari settlers arriving by canoe to New Zealand. We had been given a driver name at reception and were wondering what this was for until we were led outside to the coaches.

We got on the coach and met our driver who was crackers - he was and Irish Maori and welcomed the coach in loads of different languages. We were then told that we were being driven out to a Maori Village deep in the forest. We had to elect a leader and we were briefed on how to behave when we reached the village and the Marae (meeting grounds).

We arrived at the gates of the village and even though it was still raining they looked impressive with fires burning all around. A toa (warrior) from the village came to meet our chief (and the other chiefs from the other coaches) whilst another warrior was chanting above the gates. We had to stand well back. The warrior was jumping around all over the place and shouting in Moari - pretty scarry! The warrior then placed a peace offering (Teka) on the floor and the chosen chief had to proceed slowly, pick up the offering, and walk slowly backwards to show we came in peace. The peace offering was successful and we were welcomed in to the village.

We walked through the village past huts and camp fires towards the Wharenui (The Meeting House). We then took our seats for the cultural performance (a bit like I had seen at Auckland Museum at the start of the New Zealand trip). There was a variety of songs and dances as well as a Haka. There was also the Poi and stick twirling.

After the performance we were shown through to the dining hall (Warekai). The food was gorgeous and had all been cooked in a Hangi (underground oven) - The traditional hangi meal has been under the earth on hot rocks for three to four hours. The rocks are heated to a white-hot state using native timber. They are then put into a pit dug in the earth. The baskets of meat (lamb and Chicken) are put directly on the hot stones, then the vegetable baskets and then the pudding basket on top of that. A wet cloth is placed over the food followed by wet hessian. Earth is then piled quickly over everything to keep the heat inside the earth oven. The kai (food) cooks slowly over several hours - a combination of smoking and steaming. They even had some of their own lager and beer which was spot on. After the meal we looked around the village and were shown how the food was cooked before returning to the dining hall for the closing speaches - all in all a very good night.

Next day it was still raining so I just had a quick look around the town. Later in the afternoon I walked over to Kuirau Park. I had heard that Rotorua was famous for it's Geo-thermal activity and steam rising from the ground but was surprised about how much activity there was and that you could see it everyewhere. At the local park in the same way as you would see a duck pond in one of our parks there were bubbling mud pools and steam rising from a big lake as well as areas that had been coroded by the sulphur coming to the surface from deep in the Earth.

As I walked around I realised that the steam was coming from everywhere even from the grass at the side of the road. You could also smell the eggy sulphur smell - nice! Areas were fenced off but next day I heard a story of a group of Chinese tourists who were photographing away when one of the areas exploded right next to them showering them with hot mud.

I think the fact that the air was misty made the steam even more impressive as there was one bit in the park where you walk over a bridge right over a steaming lake - there was so much steam that you couldn't see the people walking towards you until they were right in front of your face. Another good thing about this park was that it was all free!

After the park I walked through a Maori settlement (Ohinemutu) on the edge of the lake where there were black swans - quite fitting for the area. There was a Maori meeting house (Tamatekapua) and St. Faith's Church on the lake shore.

Next day it was time to visit Hobbiton in the town of Matamata. I had been told that not much of the Lord of the Rings set was left in place but this actually turned out to be a really good morning. I was picked up by the mini bus - the driver was pretty cool and drove us around the area - back through the park and he explained that everyone in Rotorua has steam heating from the hot ground water and some people even use it to cook with in special pits in the back garden.

The sun was shining and as we drove into the countryside it was clear that I'd picked a good day to do this. We stopped the bus at the Shires Rest and met up with our guide - he was 86 but new all about the films and had been on set when the crew had been working so had lots of insider info for us.

We drove through the farm and you could see why Peter Jackson had chosen the location as it looked very much like rolling green English hillside. There was also no roads or man made structures that would need clearing from shots (except a barn which was disguised during filming). We were told that the army was drafted in to build an access road and during filming a no flying zone was in force which showed you the sway Peter Jackson must have had. We were shown where all the make-up and catering tents had been set up as well as the "Animal Kingdom" where all the animals were looked after. We then headed down to Hobbiton where we got our first view of the Party Tree and Field and the Lake.

As we got closer we could also see the Hobbit holes.

There were lots of markers around the place which showed where the Mill and Bridge had been as well as a marker where they filmed the shot where Sam talks about being the furthest away from home he has ever been (in reality this is right next to the village!).

The Hobbit holes themselves have been taken back to wood fronts and you can only go into Bag End on top of the hill.

Although it's true that there is not much set left I thought the guide did a good job of explaining where everything happened. We even saw the Blacksmiths house where the Black Rider first arrives looking for Baggins of the Shire. The guide explained that they had to bring in hedge rows from other farms - they even moved a huge oak tree which they cut into sections and re-built on site - they ordered special plastic leaves which they had to hand stick onto the tree!! The guide also explained that all the vegetables that were growing had to appear to be huge in comparison to the Hobbits so they were all fed chemicals (like steriods) so they appeared huge but were in-edible.

After the tour we headed back to Rotorua where I met up with the bus to take me to my next destination - Hells Gate - quite a contrast to the green fields of Hobbiton!

Hells Gate is a geothermal field in the Rotarua region (known as Tikitere to the Maoris). George Bernard Shaw visited Hell's Gate in 1934 and gave it its English name. I had an hour and a half to explore the park. The features of the park included:

Sulphur Bath - It has a pH of 1.5 which is similar to very strong acid

Inferno - This area consists of five separate pools, which range from 70oC to 110oC with depths from 5m to 15m

Kakahi Falls - the largest hot water fall in the Southern Hemisphere. The Maori warriors used to bathe in the waters after battle and the sulphur treated their wounds.

Mud Volcano - unique because of its height - it throws up mud bombs from time to time.

The Steaming Cliffs - At the surface, temperature is 122oC with the boiling water sometimes reaching a height of more than 3 metres.

Cooking Pools - The most important aspect of this pool, is that it has a constant temperature of approximately 93oC - the pool can be used for cooking and the Sulphur does not taint the food.

Sulphur Lake - The only water you can touch - the lake water has been used for hundreds of years to cure aches and pains.

After visiting the reserve I still had some time to check out the Government Gardens and follow the footpath around Sulphur Bay - an area at the edge of Lake Rotorua which you can cross on boardwalks. Even the water at the edge of the lake bubbles and steams!

Waitomo

The rain continued as we set off for Waitomo. We stopped for coffee but made decent time to arrive in Waitomo. The area is known for the popular Waitomo Caves - there are a number of caves found in the limestone rock of the Waitomo district. I checked into the YHA hostel before walking down into the village to book some cave based activities.

I originally decided that I wanted to do Tumu Tumu Toobing (Black Water Rafting) and The Lost World Expedition with Waitomo adventures as I had a discount voucher from doing the Sky Jump. Each company operates different caves and unfortunately there had been so much rain that the Waitomo Adventures caves were flooded and only one company was operating rafting that day. I went to see the company and booked up for the rafting later that day and went back and booked the Lost World for early next morning at 7am. I got a free ticket to go to the cave museum so decided to look around there till my rafting at 3pm. The museum was dull but I did learn about the glow worms - one of the few creatures to live down in the caves.

It continued raining hard and I headed back to start the rafting - unfortunately there was bad news as their cave had finally flooded (which very rarely happens - typical!) and it was called off. I was able to re-schedule for next day at midday which would still give me time to catch the Magic Bus on to Rotorua at 3pm. I was left with the problem of what to do instead - Waitomo is a small village with nothing going on so a few of us decided to check out the pub. It was freezing in the pub and they had no fire wood plus the kitchen was closed so we all headed back to the hostel. I ended up watching TV for the first time in months (CSI Miami which was pretty good). I also got a phone call at the Hostel from Waitomo adventures - at first I thought it was another cancellation but they said the cave water was extremely high and was at the base of a ladder we would need to climb - they were pretty confident the cave would drain but asked if I could do it later instead of at 7am - I explained about the rafting and they said we could try it at 8am so I'd be back for the rafting at 12.

I got up bright and early next morning ready to start my action packed day. The guide was waiting for me as I was the only one doing the first Lost World trip. We drove out to the cave system and met a caver who had just been down to check the water levels - he gave the OK to go but said there was still a lot of water down in the caves. We got geared up and walked out to the descent which took you to the entrance of the cave in the middle of farmland. The descent was so deep that the shaft was full of mist. After a short practice securing the safety harness I had to use to secure myself to the safety ropes when walking in slippy or dangerous parts of the cave, I was attached to the abseiling equipment. I abseiled with the guide 100m down to the cave entrance.

The abseiling was harder to do than I expected because 100m of wet rope is quite heavy. We were down by the stream at the bottom of the shaft at the cave entrance within about 10 minutes. It was pretty amazing to look back up the rope and see where you had just come from. I continued into the caves with the guide along the side of a fast flowing stream - he said that it was probably one of the highest water levels he had seen the stream reach. We switched on our flashlights and climbed into the caves - because of the higher water levels we had to climb a bit higher away from the normal path. We went into a dark area at the back of the cave and sat down - when we switched off our helmet lights I saw that the roof of the cave was covered with glow worms - it was like looking up at a stary sky. We went back into the cave and then I had to climb a 30m ladder - this was difficult too as the ladder was wet and there was water dripping down onto my face if I looked up. Once at the top of the ladders we were in the upper levels of the cave and there was a path and another series of ladders which we followed that took us past various rock formations before leading us out of the cave.

After a quick lunch stop it was time for the Black Water Rafting. The rest of the people doing the rafting turned out to be traveling on the Magic Bus, but were only stopping off on the way to Rotorua. We arrived at the cave site and a short walk took us to the entrance of the cave where we collected our rubber rings. We walked down ito the caves and waded through the water until it got deep enough to float the rings - unfortunately my rubber ring turned out to be a bit small for me and I kept tipping out and couldn't sit up straight. We had to form a line and you had to hold onto the Wellies of the person behind you. We then drifted on the river through the caves. We all turned out our lights and drifted along in the darkness - you had to be careful and push yourself away from rocks and the walls of the cave if you got too close (although as it was dark you usually hit them!). On the roof of the cave there were loads of glow worms which looked like a stary night sky - much more than I had seen on the Lost World tour - pretty impressive. The guides stopped us when the water level of the cave changed. You had to climb up and then fall off backwards into the river below off the falls holding onto your rubber ring. When everyone had made it down we got back into formation and turned out the lights again and drifted further into the caves. We reached another point where we had to climb out again as the water level changed again - this time you had to put the rubber ring around your waist and were moved down to a lower level. I liked this much better as we swam through the caves to the final obstacle - they had built a water slide in the cave. It was pretty scary as you could not see where the slide went to and there was a lot of water. The slide was really fast and when I hit the water below I drifted around a corner where I was met by another guide who made sure I was OK. The water level then dropped considerably and the guide directed me just to keep walking. I followed the stream through the caves - it seemed to go on for quite a while and I was starting to wonder if I'd missed a turning when a staircase came into view and I heard the voices of the rest of the group.

We headed out to the caves for hot showers and some soup - I then had to race back to the hostel to collect my stuff and I was the last to be picked up by the coach driver. The coach was packed and we headed off towards the next stop - Rotorua.

Cape Reinga

Next morning we had an early start to travel up to Cape Reinga at the very top of the North Island.

We stopped in Puketi Kauri forest for our first stop of the morning and did a short boardwalk around part of the forest (Manginagina Scenic Walk).

We then stopped for a coffee break and to buy our lunch since we were told there were no shops in the remote area around the Cape. The place we stopped was the Ancient Kauri Kingdom. As well as a cafe they sell all sorts of gifts and furniture made from Kauri wood - since it is illegal to caut Kauri wood all the wood is dug from swamps and the wood is between 30,000 and 50,000 years old. The furniture was very expensive - the centrepiece of the shop was a huge log staircase which was one solid piece of wood with a spiral staircase carved up through the trunk.

Then we went off road onto 90 mile beach. The coach we had was adapted for beach driving and had protection from the salt water. There were also a few cars driving on the beach (car hire firms won't insure you to drive). Cars often get stuck on a beach and we saw the top of a car sticking out of the sand! We made a stop on the beach and got some fresh sea air before moving on to Te Paki quicksand stream which we actually turned into and drove up. We stopped again on a dry piece of sand and then we got to go Sand Boarding down the giat sand dunes. I was a bit nervous on my first run as I did not want to get covered in sand but by the 3rd go I was really enjoying myself.

We stopped for lunch at a scenic bay before making our way to the Cape.

Cape Reinga is an impressive place where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean - there is a lighthouse right on the tip of the Cape. According to Māori mythology, the spirits of the dead travel to Cape Reinga on their journey to the afterlife in the spiritual homeland of Hawaiki. At Cape Reinga they depart the mainland by leaping off the ancient pohutukawa tree on the cape. They turn briefly at the Three Kings Islands for one last look back towards the land, then continue on their journey. There are also a number of signposts at the Cape which show direction and distance of some international cities.

From the Cape we headed back to Paihia. That night I went to the Saltwater Lodge where it was 1 pound a pint all night. There was also a raffle and I won 50% off a sailing trip in Aucklnad (unfortunately the weather was too bad to use it).

Next day the weather changed and it started raining as we left Paihia to go back to Auckland. I had a night out in Auckland and we went to the Globe Bar, Shakespeares Tavern (micro-brewery pub) and finally to O'Carrolls Irish bar. It was a late night and I was tired when I had to get up to head to Waitomo.

Auckland to Paihia (Pie Here)

I caught the Magic Bus early in the morning which was going to Paihia and the Bay of Islands. There was only a few of us on the bus so everyone was chatting quite quickly.

We stopped off at Waipoua forest which is highly populated with the protected Kauri tree. We followed a short walk through the forest to see one of the largest trees in the world. 51m. high, with a girth of over 13m. The Maori call this tree Tāne Mahuta (God of the Forest).

We made another stop at Hokianga Harbour before we arrived at Paihia a small town which acts as a gateway to the Bay of Islands. I stayed in the strangely named Pipi Patch Hostal. It was a really nice place with a lively bar and nightly BBQ.

Next day I took a fast boat trip around the Bay of Islands on the Excitor. The boat had 2 x 800hp Turbo Intercooled CAT 3406E engines and a top speed of 45 Knots. After taking my travel sickness tablets (very extreme!!) I sat in the Extreme Seats at the front of the boat - these seat are the bumpiest.

It was a good trip the driver was playing tunes while we raced along, but he was also giving a comentary so we knew what we were seeing. We hit some really big waves which slammed us back into the water and down onto our seats - it got pretty rough and some people moved further back in the boat. We went out to Cape Brett and the landmark 'Hole in the Rock'. Well we didn't just pass through the hole the driver span the boat around in it. Next we stopped outside a small cave called 'Cathedral Cave' which looked really small the driver was then joking that he had a bet with the driver of the cruise boats that he could drive the boat into the cave and started moving the boat towards it playing the Mission Impossible music - he was able to get the boat right inside before reversing out. We also went passed Urupukapuka Island where you can camp in the summer before heading back to Russell (one of the first English settlements and New Zealand capital for one day) before arriving back at Paihia.

In the afternoon I went to check out the Waitangi National Reserve. On the reserve is the Treaty House built in 1832 as the four room residence of James Busby it was then the setting for the Treaty of Waitangi. From the British point of view, The Treaty, as New Zealanders often call it, justified making New Zealand a British colony. Next to the treaty house is a Maori Whare Runanga (Meeting House) built and carved in wood. You had to take your shoes off (Maori Custom) before going in and looking at the carvings inside. In the grounds of the reserve there was also a 35m war canoe "Ngatokimatawhaorua" named after the canoe in which the legendary Polynesian navigator Kupe discovered New Zealand. The canoe was made from giagantic Kauri logs.

After looking around the reserve and grounds I did a walk to Hararu falls through Mangrove forest over a boardwalk and around Hutia Creek.

Sky Jump

I had been talking about this with a few of you who had been encouraging me to do it so I finally got around to doing the SkyJump from the Auckland Sky Tower.

I signed up and went up the tower with another jumper - they give you a jump suit and body harness. Once up on the observation deck I was clipped to the jump cable. You stand on the end of the platform and look over the edge - you also get your photo taken. It was a strange feeling jumping off the edge because you see traffic and rooftops when you look down and your brain is questioning what you are asking it to do!

You stop after a few seconds and hang in mid air while they get another photo before they let you drop to the ground and you accelerate to around 75Kmph. It was a great sensation but unfortunately it didn't seem to last too long as you soon see the ground and the landing target rushing up towards you.

The total drop I did from the observation was 192m (630ft)! This definately has got me even more exited about a skydive which I hope to do in Taupo.

After my jump I paid for the photo CD.

Then I walked around the Parnell area of Auckland which has a couple of old buildings Ewelme Cottage and The Kinder House built around 1857 - not old at all by UK standards.

Unfortunately I did not check the Jump CD until later that night - it was blank I raced back to the Skytower at 5.55pm they close at 6pm but they had deleted all the photos from that day. So before any of you start asking - how do we know he really did it? Well I have two prints that I bought but just need to scan these in so I'll add them soon.