New Zealand - North Island I
Auckland was cold. That was the fiorst impression we got when we left the airport terminal for the first time, it didn't help thatit was raining too. However, not to be put off we jumped on the airbus taxi to town and our chosen bed for the night the FAt Camel Hostel. The hostel was nice enough and we got a windowless double for only 52 bucks, including a free dinner. After good nights sleep and a lay in we set out into Auckland and discovered it was pretty much like any other western city although the sky tower dominates it's horizon and dwarfs the surrounding towerblocks. The day's main aim was n ot to enjoy the city though it was to buy warm clothes. After trawling all iof the city's outdoor shops we settled on the cheap items available from the Warehouse, the warehouse, where evryone gets a Bargain! (Don't ask) Anyway, equipped with sexy thermal underwear and fleeces we bgan to arrange the rest of time in NZ. We decided to hire a car and found the best deal thropugh a company called Apex. The following day we picked u[p the car ventured out on our own to explore the North island.
Our first stop was the Corromandal Peninsula where the beautiful scenery that would be typical of our time here began. On this first day we saw majestic rivers, steming hot pools on the beaches and sand that glimmered pink as there were so many tiny shells covering it.
Next stop was the town of Rotorua, famous for it's hot springs. To put it bluntly, it stank - you could not get away from the smell of sulphur just hanging in the air. During our time here we visited a number of mineral lakes, each with it's own unique colour created by the mineral bedrock, a village buried by a volcanic eruption and saw the drains around town just steaming away to themselves. Our first taste of the more dramatic side of Rotarua came when we just wandered down the street and saw a towering geyser spewing steam about 30m into the air. On our way to lake Taupo we took time out to stop at the Waio Tapu thermal park for a look at more geysers, bubbling mud and lakes coloured like srtists pallettes by the mineral content of the water. It was god but you did a bit cheated at having to pay to see the natural wonders of the planet, it just didn't seem right to make a big profit on that kind of thing. When we got to Taupo we checked into a nice hostel and began to discuss the possibilities of skydiving. Taupo is the cheapest place in the world to do it and has some great views thrown into the bargain. To cut a long story short, after much debate we both booked a jump for the following morning. Jenny was undecided until she met a girl that had been on our boat in the Whitsundays, who she described as a wuss, but had done a jump. The morning came after some nervous sleep and we got out of bed only to be told that the cloud cover was too dense to jump and we'd be going an hour later. That was a really long hour and as we sat waiting for the buss tothe airfield the tension grew. After gearing up and having a short briefing we all piled into the plane. The journey up to 12,0o0 feet took about 15 minutes and it was hell. I remember looking out of the window and thinking damn this is high only to be told that we were only at 3,000 ft. Nevertheless you don't have much choice when you're strapped to a guy who's jumping out of a plane. The jump itself was amazing and the views spectacular, it really was unlike anything i've do before. Afterwards jenny told me she'd had a great song through her head the whole way up in the plane: He jumped from 40,000ft without a parachute...
The rest of the day was a bit tame compared to the moring as we just jumped in the car and continued south. The next day we drove through the tongariro national park and past Mt Ruehapu where the Mt doom scenes where filmed for the lord of the rigs trilogy. The lords of the rings lionk didn't stop there and as we drove up the desert road on the east of the park the pylons that march off into the distance really look like the ents from the movie giving the place a very strange atmosphere. The rest our journey south took in the artdeco town of Napier and some very thick mountain fog. When we arrived in wellington it was wet, again, but after negotiating the one way system we found some accomodation and spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the Te papa museum whihc was definitely worth the visit for it's displays about maoiri culture. We went to the cinema in the evening and then got an early night as we had to catch the ferry the following day.
Mark 13/7/05
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