life in NZ

After Rotorua and the thermal park (it really did smell quite bad!), we got picked up by people from the Tauhara centre and spent a week there working in exchange for our food and accommodation. Highlights include going to a hot pool, which was natural- the meeting of 2 rivers - a hot one and a cold one. It was cool, as you could choose the temperature you wanted! We lit candles and put them on the bank, put mud masks on, and all 6 of us gazed up at the stars - it was magical. The centre also had a native American storyteller come in - it may sound childish, but it was actually really cool! There were people of all ages there. The work was hard, but all the people were really friendly, which made it good :)
We also rented mountain bikes, which Claire found really fun. We went on a mountain biking track from Taupo to the Huka Falls - Claire actually found her adrenaline rush here, as the hills were steep, and if you put the brakes on you just skidded! Sophie found it a bit too scary, so Claire left her at Huka Falls to finish the track up to the Aratiatia dam- it was probably for the best as she managed to make it just in time to see them let the water out of the dam- if they'd both carried on they wouldn't have made it in time! Sophie was happy wandering round after locking up the bike- very glad to get off it! After this they went by road to the Craters of the moon- another thermal reserve- Sophie didn't want to see another mountain biking track and Claire was tired from the ride so quite happy to take the easy way out!
Next we headed to wellington along a desert road where we saw Mount Doom which was quite cool (not sure what the mountains actual name was!) In Wellington the main highlight was bumping into a skateboarding competition, which kept us entertained for hours! They were so good and our favourites won! yay!
Then we travelled across to the South Island, where we got picked up by the magic bus from Picton and travelled to Nelson. We had a really cute 23 yr old guy in our room who we got talking to- he taught Claire how to play the guitar now Claire knows how to play the guitar (well maybe just happy birthday and smoke on the water!) We also played some drinking games and... well basically getting up early for the bus the next morning was entertaining- hes probably going to come and meet Claire somewhere else in NZ...
We slept quite alot on the way to Greymouth! Though we did get off at all the sites for a look- there was some really pretty destinations such as the Punakaiki pancake rocks. Greymouth is not a place I would want to visit again- we decided to go on a Brewery tour with people from the Magic bus to pass the time- despite not being great fans of beer- go figure! There was actually quite a nice one with lime in and the tour was a laugh so it was all good. We then had a BBQ and a rather extreme firework display since it was 5th Nov (some guys lit fireworks and ran to the centre of the main road-not that there were many cars- to let them off)
The next day we went to Franz Josef- here we tried out ice climbing- which was awesome- and went on a wander to the glacier which was nice (running out of adjectives here!). We also grabbed our torches when it got late and went exploring in the forest and found a glowworm cave which was fab.
Our next journey was to Queenstown- a long bus journey but a really scenic route and alot of cool stops along the way! We did a tandem bungee jump :O at the Kawarau bridge which is the worlds first commercial bungy site- our jump was "special" as we managed to go feet first for quite alot of the way... not really the normal bungee jumping style- but hey it was awesome!
Today we have spent the day in Queenstown and tomorrow we are heading to Milford Sound- the number 1 place to go in New Zealand- lets hope it lives up to its name!
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hope this all makes some kind of sense- tad tired right now so brains are not functioning properly (went out to pub last night!)