'Welcome To Middle Earth'

Since my last post our situation has changed dramatically. 

That opening sentence was exciting wasn't it? But don't jump to conclusions. We haven't been abducted by aliens or driven off a mountain. The last time I wrote we had arrived in Auckland to rain and wind and I had been feeling a bit tired of cities, since then I am happy to say our summer Christmas holiday has officially started. The sun is now shining and jet lag is a thing to the past.

On the 16th of dec (if I cast my mind back) we visited Waiheke Island, which is a 40 minute ferry ride away from the coast of Auckland, the day was overcast but thankfully not raining. We arrived at the island, docking into a small peaceful bay and were greeted by our coach tour guide and his tiny puppy 'Otter' (or 'Otto'. My ear for the kiwi accent still needs some fine tuning). He took us around the beautiful island pointing out the bays and vineyards but the best thing about his tour was his dry sense of humour which my family appreciated but seemed to be lost on some people, including a chinese family who fell asleep. After the coach journey we decided to go for some exploring of our own around the island and took a walk along the coast line. The houses that we passed were all incredible and could cost up to $14million (about £7million) so I crossed it off as one of the many idylic places I am unlikely to live. 

The following day we checked out of our hotel and grabbed a taxi to the campervan rental place, which I assumed would be some sort of garage but turned out to be a family home, including five very friendly and funny children who had just recieved a whoppie cushion as an early christmas present (hilarity ensued). On our way there it had started to rain, really rain. Luckily there was an EXTREMELY cute baby called Priscilla with the biggest cheeks I have ever seen, to keep my mind off the weather. We set off from the house a couple of hours later in the campervan, which was very simular to ours just with a fridge, porche wheels and a much less eyecatching paintjob. It's great to be in a familar van which holds so many holiday memories for me. As soon as we began to drive we found ourselves in the middle of a rain storm (another thing to remind me if holidays in the past) so strong that it nearly blew the windscreen wipers off. The rain eased as we got closer to Lake Taupo and left some impressive clouds for me to enjoy. When we got to Taupo, Oli remembered a site where you could camp for free, just outside of the town so we head there. The site was called Reid's Farm and was a lovely relaxed area next to the clear waters of the river with a number of other campers from groups of young people to families.

The next morning, after all sleeping cramped up in the camper, we awoke to blue skies! Oli had a day planned for us which started with going to see the impressive Huka Falls, a natural rapids where the perfect clear blue water turns into angry white crashes and then back again. After the falls we walked arounf The Craters of the Moon which is an area where the hot steam from under the. Earth's crust escapes into the air and makes the landscape look alien (and smell slightly of eggy sulphur). We then went and tasted some local honey produce at Huka Hive (delicious) and then for lunch at Prawn Land (yep, real place) a prawn farm which was open to the public and served the biggest, juiciest prawns I have ever had. Oli had been told by the tourist information people that one unmissable thing was the opening of the dam which was happening at 4pm. After losing track of time we found ourselves rushing to get to the dam and jumping out of the van only to find we had missed it. The day ended with a trip to the local hot spring pools where Bonnie and I relaxed at Oli and Dad played like children on the flume (stoopid boys).

On the 19th we left Taupo and spent to the day travelling towards Wellington along outstandingly picturesque landscapes, including Desert Road, past Mount Doom and through small farming towns which looked like old fashioned American towns, with one small high street. The day was really hot so we had  the windows rolled down as we drove, listening to the CDs I made for the trip. As we approached Wellington it began to get worryingly cloudy again but the moment we spotted the city the clouds seemed to part. We had a drink at a bar next to the Wellington airport runway and drove up and up and up in our little van to Victoria Point to get a view if the city, which as cities go is pretty spectacular. We then drove to Oli's friends house where we would be staying for a couple of nights and made fajitas.

That evening Oli took us out to sample the local nightlife, of which there is a lot. We had a couple of drinks at The Southern Corner which really reminded me of bars in Budapest, and The Cavern Club which was refreshingly empty and played old classics from The Beatles to David Bowie. At one point Oli and Dad went to the bar and I spotted a very drunk man stumbling over to me and Bonnie. He sat down next to us and said 'Are they your boyfriends?', we laughed and I said 'no, but one of them is my dad.'. This seemed to confused him and put an end to the conversation. Dad and Oli came back over at the same time as one of the drunk guys friends came to his rescue. Dad ended up having a chat with them about places of interest in NZ.

Our first (and only) full day in Wellington was full of touristy things. After a late start we visited Te Papa (the national museum) where we darted around trying to learn something factual about the country then jumped in the cable car up to the botantical gardens. We walked down through the gardens and caught a bus to The Roxy, a cinema in the suburbs of Wellington which is owned by the driector of LOTR and The Hobbit, Peter Jackson. It was a beautiful retro cinema with a large wooden bar and lots of Lord of the Rings relics. We went into the cinema which was relatively small but with spacious, seriously comforable seats. We watched The Hobbit no.3 which was pretty good and then had a delicious dinner and cocktail at the resturant (CoCo).

On the morning of the 20th we had to wake up at 6am to get our ferry over to the South Island. The crossing was thankfully very calm and I managed to sneek in a couple more hours of sleep. We drove off the ferry at Picton and headed on the coastal, scenic route towards Nelson. The views at this part of the trip were the most impressive so far. We stopped at Marlborough Sounds for the views of the super green (I swear green is greener here) islands contrasting with the super blue (and blue come to thik of it) water. We drove past bay after bay until we decided to stop at one called Robin Hood bay for a rest. When we left this bay we made it half way up the hill before the petol ran out and we had to stop. A man in a 4X4 came past and offered to drive in front of us as we rolled down the hill back to the bay in search of more fuel. This was a pretty nail-biting experience and when we got back down to the bay Bonnie and I went for a walk on the beach and Dad and Oli walked to find someone with fuel. On the beach there was cold fresh water coming down from the surrounding mountains and flowing up through the pebbles and into the warm sea. Oli and Dad succeeded in their mission and a group of local men came to fill the tank. We continued on the beautiful (sometimes terrifying) winding mountain roads until we reached Nelson. 

In Nelson we met with Zoe and her son Rex, close family friends who we have been going to Glastonbury with since forever and just happened to be in New Zealand at the same time as us. They were staying with their friends Ruth, Joel and their toddler Jonah and we joined them at the house. We had a bite to eat and put up the tent in the garden for Oli and Dad to sleep in. We had a couple of drinks then a well needed sleep.

In the morning we got our stuff together and headed out of Nelson to Mapua, a local seaside village to get some fish and chips. We walked a along a nearby beach and found some petrified wood (you can imagine all the naef punns) and a bath on the beach which was heated by the fire that you lite underneathand filled by a hose. We headed home after relaxing by the sea a bit longer and i got a bad headache while the others had a bbq (typical how I am rarely ill at home).

Today we left Nelson to head for Takaka, where we will be spending Christmas on the beach, how strange. 

Well, bit of a long one but there was a lot to cram in (and I put in pretty pictures to keep you interested)

Merry Christmas, thanks for reading!