As you already know I went to New Zealand for 3 weeks. For the first week I stayed in the Wellington area with my friend and her cousin. We went everywhere! The All Blacks sign amused me some what because its just like the Hollywood and it really sticks out on the hillside. We spotted it whilst driving around the bays which can be seen above in image 2.
On one of our many adventures we drove over these things! They are known as the Rimatuka's and they are not fun to drive over! The roads are tiny, super windy and the road has very little in the way of barriers to stop you from driving over the edge! However, there was a stunning view from the car window!
On the way to Featherton, Greytown and Masterton we went past this lovely river and just had to stop. The water was soooo clear and fresh you just wanted to jump in. However, after dipping a toe we decided against the idea because it was absolutely freeeeezing! We also visited Rivendell from Lord of the Rings and saw several swingbridges. However, it was impossible to tell that the film company had even been there. If you wasn't told it was from the set you'd have never noticed. I know this is a good thing in terms of the environment but it would have been nice to be able to recognise the set. Or they could have hidden a few things here and there. But never mind, we still met Golem!
Many of you will know that I LOVE deer. So when we went to Staglands I was over the moon that I could get so close to them let alone feed them! They were so curious and couldn't wait to come up close. Although one of them got a bit cheeky and stole the entire bag of food and wouldn't let us try and take it back! The little goat who is having a little sniff at my behind followed us EVERYWHERE. He wanted to be our friend and was so incredibly cute. I wanted to bring him home but I definitely wouldn't have got him through immigration and customs!
On another lovely day we went back into town and visited the botanical gardens and the cable car. We had such wonderful views from the top!
We also made two visits to Mount Victoria one during the day and one at sun down. From the top of Mt Vic you could see the whole of Wellington City! It was amazing and looked even better at night. Although at night it is absolutely freezing! It was really difficult to get the night shot because I couldn't keep my damn camera still! Definitely worth freezing for.
Once we had finished in Wellington we jumped on a stray bus and headed on up to Auckland. By the time we got there it was dark but we headed up the Sky Tower none the less and saw the entire city at night! Another difficult shot to capture but so worth it as the view up there was stunning! If we had more time we probably would have gone back during the day but we only had an evening there.
Once we had left Auckland we headed on down to Raglan to do a spot of surfing and to stay in an eco lodge. On the way there we stopped off at Bridal Veil Falls for a quick break and to take a few photos.
After we left Raglan we went to Waitomo Caves where I went caving, abseiling down underground waterfalls, rock climbing and looking at glow worms! After that we went on to Uncle Boys for a Maori cultural night which was incredible! We were welcomed into Uncle Boys family and were given a traditional welcome. We then watched the guys perform the haka and the girls perform the poi. Afterwards we were then invited to learn these and had to perform them to the rest of the group! Once we left Uncle Boys we headed on down to Rotorua. We visited Hells Gate and saw many mud and sulphur pools. There was even a mud volcano! The whole place was steaming as the water was so hot. Even the waterfall had a mist coming off of it! Needless to say the whole place stank of rotten eggs! At the end we even had a mud bath followed by a sulphur bath.
We also made a visit to Wai-o-tapu the Thermal Wonderland. It too was full of bubbling mud pools, hot sulphur pools and many other incredible sights. We even saw the Lady Knox Geyser which they can set off when they like by putting some form of soap into it. Just as we were leaving we noticed a rainbow coming from the water vapour which was rather lovely. The top image is of the Artists Palette which is a large pool of different metals and minerals meeting which then creates the amazing pools of bright colours. On one of the last stops we stayed over at Blue Duck Station and went on a 4x4 safari and got absolutely soaked as it was chucking it down with rain and the 4x4 didn't actually have a roof...
You maybe wondering 'what the hell is this?' Well, I stood on that platform and was strapped into a harness sitting down. They then opened the gate, hung me over the edge and dropped me! It was like a giant swing over the gorge and river. There was a few moments free fall before a mega swing. It was AMAZING. However, the next activity beat it hands down...
Yep, thats right. I jumped out of a plane at 15,000 feet. It is without a doubt the best thing I have ever done. We jumped above Lake Taupo on a super clear day and I have many many many great pictures and even a DVD. On the way up I was shaking like a leaf because I was so nervous (you can even see me say 'oh shit' just as we're about to jump) but as soon as we jumped all of that fear disappeared. Skydive Taupo's tagline sums it up perfectly:
Fear is temporary. Achievement is permanent.
If you have managed to make it this far then well done! As this is a pretty big post! As you may of guessed I had a pretty incredible time. And now its back to reality. Until next time.
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