'Do it together and do it wet' - the best advice we've received so far

Rafting rocks!
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Gemma: Ha ha! This will teach you all to complain about our lack of blogging - we suggest you settle down with a cup of tea before you start reading, you could be a while...

Our desire for a good saturday night out was definitely fulfilled by the funky bars of Auckland's more upmarket area - Ponsonby Road.  We had a fab evening with a group of very hospitable locals who introduced us to a few cool hang outs and confirmed our suspicion that there is much more to Auckland than we had seen during our first stay.

Making our mark on the Kiwi landscape
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We bid our final farewell to NZ's unofficial capital the next day and headed east to Thames which from here on in will be referred to as 'weirdtown.'  On our short walk around the town centre we were unable to see any signs of life so we took a few pics of some not-so-great scenery and headed back to our (also weird) hostel for a quiet night in front of the fire.  Thoroughly unimpressed with grey and murky Thames, we moved on early and spent a wonderful morning exploring the Coromandel Peninsula in glorious sunshine and discovering the gem that is Cathedral Cove.

Paradise at Cathedral Cove
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Our idyllic morning was followed by a fun-filled afternoon as we hit Hot Water Beach to see what all the fuss is about.  Reclining in our spa pool dug with our own fair hands (well, sort of, we had a go, decided it was far too much like hard work so jumped into one recently vacated by two guys!) we had to admit that it didn't get much better than this. We laughed from practically the moment we arrived as we went tearing across the boiling hot sand with our spades like a couple of kids with little regard for the near-freezing temperatures and the fact that we were in our bikinis.

Working the spades on Hot Water Beach
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A perfect end to a memorable day was arriving at Raglan Backpackers to find great people and a lovely hostel complete with electric blankets waiting for us.  Raglan is a wonderful capsule town consisting of one street, one pub, and a couple of beaches - all you need for a chilled out few days in this surfers paradise.  Needless to say, we didn't actually surf at all during our stay (due to our reluctance to embarrass ourselves again in a water-sport related activity) but we did manage to squeeze in a relaxing walk on the beach and an al fresco afternoon coffee or two - talk about staying within your comfort zone!

Words cannot describe how scared Alison was at this point!
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However, we then moved on to NZ's self-proclaimed adventure capital - Rotorua, and that's when the fun began...  This was our stop for knocking a few of our 'must do' activities off of the list.  We attended an amazing maori 'hangi' (traditional meal cooked on hot coals) which was a total tourist activity but worth doing all the same as it gave us an insight into the maori way of life both past and present.  Clearly the people involved in the maori village company are incredibly passionate about their heritage and it was amazing to see this passion displayed in all its glory during their performance of the Hakka - goosebumps all over again just thinking about it...

We love Zorbing!
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Rotorua is also the birthplace of Zorbing - the crazy kiwi pastime which involves rolling down a hill in a huge inflatable ball filled with water.  Following the advice of numerous other Zorbers to 'do it together and do it wet' (get it now?) we proceeded to the top of the hill where we were told to 'superman dive' into the ball and then given the somewhat limited instructions of "right girls, stand up and start walking."  I think we managed a step and a half before landing on our backs as the ball started hurtling down the hill at top speed.  30 seconds of screaming and giggling later it was all over and our pleas of 'we want to go again' unfortunately fell on deaf ears.  (We discovered it's most difficult to wangle a free ride from a kiwi zorber when you're soaking wet, shaking from the cold, and wearing charity t.shirts - not a great look!)

The following day, still on an adrenaline high, i took to the waters of the Kaituna river to try my hand at white water rafting.  Despite being given the seat in the raft dubbed 'the ejector' i'm pleased to report that i managed to hold on for dear life and remain in the raft even as we went over falls as tall as a house (7m).  (Although i could have done with keeping my mouth closed at certain key points to prevent myself from inhaling half of the river.)

It was Alison's turn to push her limits that afternoon with a bungy jump - crazy girl - while i stayed firmly rooted to the ground taking pictures.  I don't think it was the most pleasurable experience for her judging by low-pitched scream of pure terror she emitted as she jumped.  In true Alison style when told to jump on the count of three to help with her nerves she went on two instead (just so it was all on her terms).

Our last evening in Rotorua was spent at a local bar in the company of a group of older guys who turned out to be the coaching staff for the All Blacks under 21's.  Seeing as we were already desperate for tickets to the upcoming NZ vs South Africa tri-nations clash, this turned out to be a bit of luck and we're happy to report that our tickets are now secured - result!

There was one minor hiccup in Rotorua which involved us leaving the car lights on all night, draining the battery, and the resulting $85 bill from the AA. Well, when i say 'us' i really mean 'me' but let's not focus on that (still not entirely sure whether Alison has forgiven me!)

There's nothing that stands out about our next destination (Taupo) more than our time spent with two fabulous Canadian brothers Douglas and Daniel.  We started talking at 3pm in the afternoon, discovered by about 6ish that they shared our passion for food, wine and travelling, and it was 1:20am when we finally said goodnight after what stands out as one of our favourite nights spent in the company of other travellers.  Repeat this the next evening, throwing in a pasta meal courtesy of the guys, and it's pretty safe to assume that we very much enjoyed our time in Taupo.

Unfortunately we were unable to throw ourselves from a plane as planned (due to the weather) so we were forced to move on from Taupo via a quick stop off to see the magnificent Huka Falls.  Well, we saw them, we then walked for an hour to find them (having not realised we were there all the time), then returned to our original spot to take the required pics - hmmm, maybe they're not so magnificent after all.  Our search for the perfect waterfall continues...