New Zealand

Our journey between Santiago and Wellington didn't exactly go as planned. We turned up at the airport in plenty of time for our flight to Auckland only to find that it had been delayed for a number of hours. It should have left at 11pm but we didn't end up taking off until about 5am. The knock on effect of this for us was that we missed the bus we had booked to take us from Auckland to Wellington. Talk of a free flight for us among the Lan Chile staff disappeared when we landed and we ended up getting a night bus to Wellington on the evening of the day we arrived. This meant that we had a day of exploring New Zealand's largest city which was quite enjoyable.

When we arrived in Wellington early the next morning we locked our bags up in a hostel then caught a bus to Roura which is the starting point of the Northern Walkway. The Northern Walkway is a series of paths that meander up hills, through forests, clearings and parks before finishing in the centre of town. Along the way we saw some excellent views of the city and surrounding countryside. We even went for a dip in an outdoor public swimming pool that is free to use. In the afternoon we met Siona, one of Ellie's friends, who we were going to stay with for a couple of nights. When we arrived at his house on Tuesday afternoon our journey which started in Santiago on Saturday afternoon was finally over (we did essentially miss a day though from crossing time zones).

We were very grateful to have showers and then some cold beer in the garden with Siona. That evening we went for a walk on the nearby beach then Siona and his wife, Mel, treated us to a curry which was a welcome change to the food of South America.

The next day we headed into the city to have more of a look around. We ended up going to the Te Papa museum which had a number of interesting and interactive exhibits. The most impressive of which was a colossal squid; the largest of its species on display at any museum in the world. Later that day we met up with Greg, a kiwi guy we know from Panama, and had a few beers with him on an outdoor table at a pub on bohemian Cuba Street where we amused ourselves watching various pretentiously dressed people walk past. That evening we had some more drinks and food with Siona and Mel at their house.

Greg came round to Mel and Siona's the following morning in his car and gave us a lift to our next destination, Rotorua. We had in fact already paid for the bus as we only found out the previous day that Greg was going that way. No doubt the bus companies were happier than we were about the number of unused tickets we were accumulating! It was much better in the car with Greg and his mate Hamish than it would have been on the bus though. There was a lot of beautiful scenery to take in along the way and we stopped off at Lake Taupo for a spot of cliff jumping and also visited Huka Falls. We passed through a place called Cheltenham that we didn't know existed so Ellie put on her Cheltenham Town shirt and posed for a few photos by the sign. Late in the afternoon Greg dropped us off at our hostel in Rotorua before him and Hamish continued their mission to Auckland for the Big Day Out music event.

We stayed for two nights in Rotorua which is a pleasant little town, if a little touristy. We didn't do a huge amount when we were there but we did manage a walk along the banks of Lake Rotorua which the town is built around. It is an enjoyable place for a stroll despite the smell of sulphur emanating from the lake. There is a lot of geothermal activity in the area which has resulted in a number of bubbling mud pools being scattered around.

From Rotorua we finally managed to catch a bus that we had booked. It took us to Waihi Beach where we were met at the bus stop by Ellie's friend Tissy who gave us a lift the short distance to the beach front house which she shares with her boyfriend, Bree. We had a couple of beers with them on their balcony before going out in their car for a guided tour of their town. We picked up some booze on the way back and had an enjoyable evening drinking at their house. We also went out for some kiwi fish and chips that night which we ate at a lookout point not too far from their house. We could only see silhouettes of the landscape but the stars were out in force.

The following day we went to the beach where we did some body boarding and swimming as well as taking some time to relax on the sand. We then cooked a tasty BBQ at their house before Tissy had to go to work. Bree took us back up to the look out point where we had eaten our dinner the previous night so that we could see it in all its glory. We had time for a quick drink at Tissy's work before catching a bus to Auckland in preparation for our flight to Sydney the next day.