So this is the place that we did the weirdest things so far...
10/6
Today we saw some more geothermal stuff. More rocks, caves and gases colouring the area. It was better than yesterday's although the pictures all look the same! We went to a Maori cultural show in the evening. That was good, we saw them arrive by war canoe, they did some dances and the haka of their village. The dinner was amazing, potatoes, chicken, garlic bread, rice salad, lamb, sweet potatoes and stuffing, there was even chocolate log and trifle for pudding and to top it off, all you can eat!! We then went to the nature park next door and saw some kiwis. They are bigger than I thought they would be and also quite strange looking.
11/6
After you have read this day, if you have facebook check out the pics of the day. We got up and hoped we could go out on the water and that we hadn't got up too late and luckily we could. Up first was sledging. So we got our gear on and then had our briefing. It was ok to start with but then when I wasn't getting anywhere kicking and the current started taking me I didn't like it anymore. I got tipped off a few times but that wasn't scary. Cool to say I have sledged some rapids though. It was really hard work. I think the pictures show that. Next was white water rafting. That was cool. Really enjoyed it! We went down a 7m waterfall- how we didn't tip no-one knows! Some of the rapids were the ones that we had sledged down earlier in the day. I would definitely go rafting again.
12/6
Rubbish weather today so while the others went on the luge I decided not to waste money on getting cold and wet and just went up the gondolda. Really cloudy so could have saved even more money and not bothered as you couldn't see anything! We then headed to Mt Maunganui for Ell to surf but the weather suggests he won't be doing that. I wanted to go to Hobbiton but can't as the company the hostel uses has no-one else who wanted to go tomorrow which is annoying.
13/6
So no surf lesson for Ell meant that we effectively lost a day in a place with nothing else for us to do. We hit the road for a 4hr ish journey to Gisbourne, the first city to see the sun everyday. Spent ages in receptino waiting for the owners to come back, that did however mean that we could have a good nosey round first. The heater in the missed dorm didn't work so we went in same sex dorms only to find that the heaters didn't work in there!! Luckily they gave us 2 duvets to keep warm.
14/6
Me and Emma got up to try and go shark cage diving but it was out of season which was a shame although it saved us $250+ each. The cidery was shut too so what were we going to do all day. Ell went for a surf lesson. The weather eventually came good and we went and saw Cook and Young Nick's statues. They are where Cook first stepped foot on NZ back in 1769. We were then all really naughty and got Dominoes for dinner- we got ourselves a good deal so it wasn't as bad as it sounds, honest!
15/6
Another 4hr ish drive today and we arrived at Napier. We had hoped to stay in the hostel that was a converted prison but it was full. Really nice city. Art-deco buildings. Most of the city had had to be re-built after the 1931 earthquake. We watched I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry in the evening before going to bed in the messiest dorm I have ever seen, thank god we were only there for one night.
16/6
Set off for the 5 hours trip to Wellington after booking tickets to see the All Blacks on 27th June in Christchurch. We drove through a massive snow storm-that was cool. On the way were the usual small towns. Got about an hour away from Wellington to find the road closed because of the heavy snowfall. So back to one of the towns as it would have taken a while to back up and down the other road. That's the thing with NZ there is only really ever one road to everywhere. That took some getting used to, no need to worry about planning the route as there is only one way!! Another unexpected day lost. Me and Ell stayed in the ship in a campsite while the others splashed out and stayed somewhere nice.
17/6
Thankfully the road was open and we made it through to Wellington. Really nice city although we have to pay to park the ship. Walked around, there are too many Subways here for one city! For dinner we had bangers and mash-yummy! We could actually drive to the supermarket than drive which was a novelty although coupled with that was the fact that we had to then carry everything back. In the evening we went to the Basement Bar downstairs. The kitchen in the hostel is rubbish, small and no-one dries anything up which is a pain and there is not enough stuff to go around for the amount of people in the place.
18/6
What an awesome day I had!! While the others trudged around a museum I went on a Lord of the Rings Tour. A full day with a Subway for lunch, good stuff. Where to begin-honestly it was so cool and I felt really sad when I got excited that I was standing (or laying-all will become clear) where the stars had. I went to where they built the sets of Helms Deep and Minas Tirith, now back to its original state as a quarry. Also visited where they built the wet set (now back to a car park) where they filmed the Gates of Moria, Dead Marshes, Flooded Isengard and Osgiliath. You would never know anything went on there. I went to the park where they filmed Gandalf riding to Isengard Tower and the gardens he and Sauron walked through chatting about the ring. Also went to the "River Anduin" (River Hutt) and saw the spot where they filmed where Aragorn washed ashore, the departure of Boromir and where Gollum followed the fellowship. Then on to Rivendell and saw where they built the sets. Got to dress up as an elf- elf ears, blonde wig and bow and arrow at Legolas' tree. Oh my god I stood where Orlando Bloom did!!!! We also went to Mt Victoria and recreated some scenes in Hobbiton Woods, we hid where the hobbits did from the Black Rider and cooked where Sam and Frodo cooked (in the extended edition first film). We then made ourselves a horse for the silohuette at the top of the hill. Wicked day, cool to go to the places where such an awesome film was filmed- nice one Ted! Can't wait to go on the one in Queenstown. More dressing up!
So the Rings Tour is another highlight of mine so far, good stuff-Dad you would have loved it!
xxx
