North Island, New Zealand
Hi gang! Lucie and I have been in New Zealand for over a week now and seem to have encountered every type of weather on offer apart from snow and ice.
We arrived late in Auckland and slept, walked around the tiny city centre the next morning then took a bus to mission bay to have a swim. It was overcast and windy but believe people when they say there is a hole in the ozone layer, we are still recovering from that day. However the beach was beautiful, we had a delicious brunch beforehand and a lovely long walk back along the coast. We tried to have dinner at 10 to nine, but Auckland is a city that sleeps!
The next day we started out Kiwi Experience adventure, had a lovely walk to Cathedral Cove and then made it to hot water beach where you can dig a hole in the sand and hot water fills it up. Sadly our sunburn and being soaked to the bone from the walk meant that we sat this one out, had some beers and got grub from the on-site burger shack.
The following day was also damp, we made it to Waitomo where they have caves with glow worms in them. Most of the fun here was rained off, so Lucie and I had a cheeky pint, attempted a long walk (the path was flooded so we had to turn back) and then we bonded with our companions with jugs of beer, tequila, ring of fire and other fun! We made friends and smoking buddies for our pit stops!
The next day the rain started to subside and we went to Hobbiton and both took 184628956728 photos, not that any of them are any good. Our tour guide Dan was hilarious and showed us a sneaky smoking spot after our black lager in the Green Dragon. From hobbiton we went to a Maori experience where we had THE MOST FUN! We sang songs, played a stick game, learnt about their culture, ate food that was cooked in the ground, went in hot tubs under the stars and had a disco in the loo (not sure how authentic this was to the Maori way of life) and slept in a very relaxing room under Maori carvings. We may have enjoyed this more because the sun was starting to show his face.
The next day we rode to Lake Taupo (toe-paw) which was an idyllic spot. The sun was out, our hostel had a balcony, we drank beer on the waterfront and briefly went dancing. The next day our buddies were all off scaling a cliff or something, so Lucie and I went to a cafe and planned, walked about, I went swimming in the lake twice, Lucie got a £12 haircut and had a nice relax and alone time. The children were back in the sauce that night but we were sensible and took it easy.
We left Taupo (😢) the following day and went to a lodge called River Valley which was absolutely beautiful. As you can imagine it was right on a river in a deep valley, surrounded by beautiful countryside. Some people swam, all of us drank until the early hours. I got white girl wasted on savignon blanc like the basic bitch I am. The next morning the brave ones went white water rafting but Lucie and I represented Surrey and went horse riding. We were the only ones that went and it was amazing, cantering up hills and observing the beautiful views. Lucie rode Mr T and I rode Rico. After that we had a spot of lunch in the beautiful lodge and started driving to Wellington where we are now.
My lovely and extremely generous friend Ben picked us up and is having us stay for the two nights we are here which is salvation after dorm rooms and bunk beds. Thanks Ben!!!
Here are some pics to entertain you after this boring rant. Enjoy!!! - A x
We arrived late in Auckland and slept, walked around the tiny city centre the next morning then took a bus to mission bay to have a swim. It was overcast and windy but believe people when they say there is a hole in the ozone layer, we are still recovering from that day. However the beach was beautiful, we had a delicious brunch beforehand and a lovely long walk back along the coast. We tried to have dinner at 10 to nine, but Auckland is a city that sleeps!
The next day we started out Kiwi Experience adventure, had a lovely walk to Cathedral Cove and then made it to hot water beach where you can dig a hole in the sand and hot water fills it up. Sadly our sunburn and being soaked to the bone from the walk meant that we sat this one out, had some beers and got grub from the on-site burger shack.
The following day was also damp, we made it to Waitomo where they have caves with glow worms in them. Most of the fun here was rained off, so Lucie and I had a cheeky pint, attempted a long walk (the path was flooded so we had to turn back) and then we bonded with our companions with jugs of beer, tequila, ring of fire and other fun! We made friends and smoking buddies for our pit stops!
The next day the rain started to subside and we went to Hobbiton and both took 184628956728 photos, not that any of them are any good. Our tour guide Dan was hilarious and showed us a sneaky smoking spot after our black lager in the Green Dragon. From hobbiton we went to a Maori experience where we had THE MOST FUN! We sang songs, played a stick game, learnt about their culture, ate food that was cooked in the ground, went in hot tubs under the stars and had a disco in the loo (not sure how authentic this was to the Maori way of life) and slept in a very relaxing room under Maori carvings. We may have enjoyed this more because the sun was starting to show his face.
The next day we rode to Lake Taupo (toe-paw) which was an idyllic spot. The sun was out, our hostel had a balcony, we drank beer on the waterfront and briefly went dancing. The next day our buddies were all off scaling a cliff or something, so Lucie and I went to a cafe and planned, walked about, I went swimming in the lake twice, Lucie got a £12 haircut and had a nice relax and alone time. The children were back in the sauce that night but we were sensible and took it easy.
We left Taupo (😢) the following day and went to a lodge called River Valley which was absolutely beautiful. As you can imagine it was right on a river in a deep valley, surrounded by beautiful countryside. Some people swam, all of us drank until the early hours. I got white girl wasted on savignon blanc like the basic bitch I am. The next morning the brave ones went white water rafting but Lucie and I represented Surrey and went horse riding. We were the only ones that went and it was amazing, cantering up hills and observing the beautiful views. Lucie rode Mr T and I rode Rico. After that we had a spot of lunch in the beautiful lodge and started driving to Wellington where we are now.
My lovely and extremely generous friend Ben picked us up and is having us stay for the two nights we are here which is salvation after dorm rooms and bunk beds. Thanks Ben!!!
Here are some pics to entertain you after this boring rant. Enjoy!!! - A x
Nice pics Al, sounds as if you're both having a fabulous time. May the adventure continue! Lol xxx
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