Wellington back to Auckland

Most of the bus continued their journey south, as i had startd on the south i decided to head back to the north of the north! This time a much quieter bus consisting of only about 6 people. It is amazing how groups of people can change so dramatically some buses are loud and eveyone gets on, others are a bit more groupy and some much quieter, it has been cool as i have had about 8 different drivers and therefore 8 different groups, so i would say i got a chance to experience it all. From Wellington we made our way back up north through what felt like the four sesons. As we travelled the sky was blue and the sun shone, white fluffy clouds floated overhead, we stopped at National park again for lunch and as we ate the snow started to fall. We had to leave early as it had started to settle and we had a 6 hour journey ahead of us. Then we experienced a hail storm, into a light rain and eventually the skies cleared. I arrived in Auckland and checked in at Base hostel. I havn't really been that impressed with the base hostels, and this time i had the pleasure of spending the night with two Irish builders and a Scottish plumber. They had been staying at the hostel for 4 and a half months, I couldnt believe it! It definately smelt like they had been there for 4 and a half months, and there was no window in the room. Luckily i was headed straight up to Kaitaia early the next morning so i had a quick escape!

National Park to Wellington

Unfortunately the crossing had been canceled for those wanting to do it as winds were high and rain was expected. We made our way south to the capital city Wellington. Recentlynnamed by lonely planet as "the coolest little capital in the world". The city has a 'buzz' about it, lots of out doors activities, including hikes, kayaking, mountain biking and theen there are many bars, theatres and art galleries. The Te Papa museum is a MUST SEE, and i have to say it is the best museum i have ever been to. There was a large colossol squid on show and various natural history artifacts. The museum highlights maori culture and history, the influx of Europeans and effects of war, changes through time and the movement of people into the country from all over the world. A really fabulous place and well worth a visit ove a couple of days when in the city. We ended up having a draw off in the arts gallery section and making 'poems' with the magnetic words on the writers wall. We stayed at Nomads where we wee treated to a fre mini meal of chili and spent the night playing beer pong and dancing in Electric Avenue! The night ended with a Bailys (i think).

Back to National Park - Tongariro

The group had decided that we loved our Stray driver, 'Motors' was full of beans, and managed to get us from A-B describing important features and parts of history along the way in her own funny way. My favourite part was when we stopped in the small town of Ohakune to look at a giant carrot, This had been designed as it was the best area in New Zealand for growing the carrot. There are many big scultures scatteed in various places around the islands, including a large salmon and fruit. The bus consisted of about 21, mainly girls and 4 boys! We stopped from place to place testing various flavours of New Zealand pie, my fave, the steak and cheese :-).  We arrived at National park where the probibility of some of the group wanting to do the crossing was looking bleak. I felt licky that i had managed to do it a week ago in perfect conditions. We spent the night playing cards, watching movies and finally having a few wines in the two hot tubs which were available to guests outside. It was cool sitting in the hot steamy water with the heavy rain pouring onto our heads, - very refrshing.

Taupo to Blue Duck Lodge

Most people were hungover today as we had travelled from the Marae to stay at Lake Taupo. What was suppose to be a quiet quiz night ended up as crazy karaoke! So many An out90's classics were screamed out, back street boys, spice girls, oa There if focus on educating visitors about sis and Greese of course! Whilst travelling to Taupo, we went through Rotorua. It was her that in the rain we were able to see the geothermal hot pools which was pretty cool, and even more cooler if you are a geography teacher! as it rained the muddy pools exploded and popped, crackled and tossed bits of mud into the air. The area has been nicknamed 'sulphur city' because evrywher you go here smells of rotten eggs! Delicious!

We travelled for about 3.5 hours until we reached Blue Duck Lodge. This was an incredibly beautiful place a huge farm which was comitted to sustainable development of the area and the surrounding forests and the protection and conservation of the beautiful blue duck. This duck is endemic to New Zealand and there are just 1400 pairs left, 10 of which can be found on the grounds of the lodge. The area offers a range of activities from hunting to horse trecking. A group of us opted for a nice hike to a waterfall while others got involved in the chasing of goats or te riding of horses. We all stayed in fabulous wooden chalets and there was a great fire in teh communal area. The owners put on a movie night but we opted to listen to music (by Passenger), drink wine and have a good old chat! The owners are extremely passionate about what they are trying to achieve which is fantastic. There is a focus on educating visitors about the importance of preserving the local flora and fauna. The horse treckers had returned fairly wet and dirty as it had been a pretty miserable day weather wise, and unfortunately one of the huntes, i wont name her! (Miss B) had returned from a pretty grusome hunting experience where i think more blood was coming out of her forehead than the animal she had attempted to shoot! we luckily were able to laugh it off and enjoyed the turkey and old goat which had been captured that day! Our walk had consistedof beautiful birds, fantails and parakeets and a beautiful kingfisher. The evening consisted of a camp fire , beverages and for me an earlyish night! A very chilled place, an outdoor enthusiasts playground. If you get the chance then GO!

A night on the Marae

Many Maori people are active in trying to keep their culture and traditions alive. We were given the chance to spend a night with a family in their communal meeting house, the Marae. We learnt a lot about Maori life and they described that their heritage is very important, they define themselves through their ancestors, by their iwi (their tribe), maunga (mountain) and awa (river).  We learnt about the symbols behind the carvings, th shapes used, the colours, the relevance of the paua shell and the shape of the meeting house. I loved the fact that their was so much representation of previous family members, tribes and beliefs of an after life. I was also really interested in the art of tattooing within the culture. Each tattoo represents that persons story, where they have been, where they are headed. Different parts of the body symbolise different ideas, the shapes and locations help to tell of an event or a memory. I had carved a beautiful piece of green stone into a tail fluke and the man of the marae told me the whale represents strength and speed and protection in the modern world when traveling. I could've listened to him all night! The building was covered in beautiful patterns and colour, red to represent blood and family, black to represent the 'god', the universe and white to represent purity and light, i guess the sun and the importance of nature and the elements.

After our discussions one of the family asked if i was a teacher, i said yup! he said he could tell because of the way i was asking questions and the types of questions i was asking. I then explained that i felt i hadn't asked enough questions when i was younger, i just assumed things or thought i knew it all, or embarrassed, i have learnt to never assume as it could make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me'. Keep asking questions, even the experts ask questions, no one knows everything!

we learnt some Maori dances and the boys entertained us with a Hakka performance, pecks out, tongues out and eyeballs almost popping out! we all slept in the main sleeping area after listening to beautiful song and guitar. A fabulous experience.

Headed to Hamilton, Raglan and Karioi Lodge :-)

A rainy day, but i love the sound of rain! i think rain can be energising and very refreshing!  I headed out of my Nomads hostel and waved goodbye to my hostel room mates and met the stray bus on the corner just down the road. We made our way through Hamilton New Zealands largest inland city, on a couple of occasions we travelled accross New Zealands longest river the Waikato. We then made our way to Raglan, a cute little surf village/town. Very hippy, lots of little book shops, galleries and second hand clothes shops. We stopped and watched the surfers before making our way to Karioi Lodge, a small wooden hostel retreat surrounded by incredible forest. There was no phone reception or Wifi, and it was nice to know that electronic devices were sll put away for the eve and we enjoyed fish and chips, a few beers and a pool tornament. There were no keys given out for the rooms either, as the area was very safe because of it's remote location. We also enjoyed the free sauna which was theeee smallest sauna i have ever been in! approximately 2m by 2m!A tight squeeze and very cosey! I highly recommend staying here!

Auckland

From the Bay of Islands i then made my way to Auckland. Here i was able to visit the sky tower. The views were amazing, I have realised that i love the feeling of being high up whether it is a mountain top, a plane or an observation area, it is a great feling to be at the level of the birds and get a feel for their perspective on the world.Auckland is known as the 'city of sails' as most of the 1,397,300 of it's population own a boat! The day was beautiful and i contemplated a whale watch tour, they were good and offered a discount as i had worked for Dolphin  Encounter, but i left it as i have seen some incredible sites and i didn't want to push my luck!