Walking in a Thermal Wonderland

Well folks, this is my last post from NZ. Tomorrow we fly to Chile for the home stretch. No more English, no more familiar food, no more swish public transport... It's shaping up to be the best bit yet. Prepare youselves for lots of donkey pics.
We left you somewhere in the North West of The South Island, where we camped in our most remote spot yet, and got a bit scared when it went dark because we were the only people for miles around. We went on the zip slide across the buller gorge, (which was higher, and faster than it looks!) and then drove all the way up to the Abel Tasman national park to do a boat trip and a "tramp". Unfortunately the weather was rubbish but there were some highlights: This is "Splut ipple ruck" which is New Zealand for, simply, "Split Apple Rock". Zoe found a magic toadstool, and here's me with an ancient tree fern like they had in the dinosaur days. You can get a vague idea of what it's supposed to be like there from this picture I took from the jungle when the rain had stopped. Oh and look! - we saw a baybee seal.
Next stop after that (not including Nelson, which I have missed out because it was boring) was Picton, where you get the ferry to Wellington. It has a beautiful harbour and, most excitingly, you can get on the mail boat and go round the fiords delivering peoples letters and shopping. You'd be surprised how much gin they get through out there. The best thing is that people's dogs come out to collect the mail. This is also where we had our first glimpse of the North Island (on the left) and visited somewhere which was something to do with Captain Cook (then again, where isn't). After the mail run we had scallops and white wine on The Echo which is a boat made into a pub (two of my favourite things). I've had one or two complaints that there isn't enough romance on the blog, (and I have to admit I've been skimming over some of our less moral moments) so I guess I should let you know that night we bonded with the local builders, over a crossword, in the irish pub and there was just the right ratio of orientations for us both to have a good night.

So that was it for the South Island! There were more boat trips we could have done but we sent our shadow selves instead. Next stop, Wellington, via a fairly cramped ferry.
Wellington was mucho fun. It has a flying ball in the town square, some nice walks in the botanical gardens and the cemetary, (there's a caption competition for that photo), and the best museum yet - a really sciencey one with loads of buttons to press, an earthquake room and some whale skellingtons. And some Maori art. The maori are our favourite indigenous population to date, scoring highly across the board on looks, sense of humour and general value down the pub. More on that later.
Wellington's nightlife was a blast; we have to say thanks to Scotty and Mal, who run the best bar in New Zealand and do the best gin martini, or three.
Travelling is a bitter sweet thing. *sigh*. I fell in love in Wellington, with a chap called Brent who I know is reading. *hi*. But unfortunately due to the advancing nature of time, and the fact we had somewhat ballsed up our North Island schedule, we moved on quite abruptly. Apologies all round. We even had to miss out the glow worm caves at waitomo that you go through in a boat. Apparently this is what we missed but that photo looks like bollocks to me..
We went straight up to Taupo where we camped next to a geothermal spring. This is where something to do with a volcano happens and hot water comes out of the ground, which they cool down so you don't boil to death, and pump it into a nice swimming pool. Thanks to a fancy irrigation system there are also loads of beautiful private pools which, and this is somewhat unsavoury, you can lock from the inside. We took the opportunity to relax and behave like adults. After that it was straight on to rotorua, which has so much volcanic stuff going on that steam comes out of the drains, and there are boiling mud pools by the side of the pavement. This is where we did our maori cultural experience, which is a bit of a patronising thing where lots of people, who probably have nice day jobs in offices, dress up as natives and shout at you, and stamp their feet, wave sticks and paddle burning canoes around. It was quite funny really. Then you have a traditional meal; They dig up some meat and potatoes which have been buried with hot coals all afternoon, which was really nice. Inexplicably followed by trifle.
And now for my favourite bit, the Thermal Wonderland at Wai O'Tapu (thats really what it was called). There is a giant geyser which goes off at 10.15 every morning. There are lots of pretty coloured rocks and strange coloured lakes because of the sulphur and iron and stuff. Here is my recreation of this photo. Here's me and some geysers, and here's Zoe and a big boiling lake. I was disappointed that nothing exploded but we did see the most fabulous boiling mud pool. Here are some plops in action, and here's a massive plop. I could have watched that for hours.
There was a band on in the pub in rotorua, revealing not only what has happened to Mutya, but I also saw Paul BH in there who claimed to have moved to New York. I took this photo surreptitiously in the dark from under my jumper but you get the idea..
And thanks to the time restrictions I didn't get a chance to go over to Taranaki and visit Hamish my old NZ penpal who I haven't seen since I was 9. But we did get to visit his little sister Alana in Waihi Beach, who was 5 last time I saw her, and has since learnt to do a great line in steaks and wine. Not sure what was going on here though. Waihi also has a working goldmine, and (and I'm predicting Adriana you'll like this) a disused gold railway where you can get a train to a cafe and back again.
And that, basically, is that. We've arived in Auckland far too late to visit any of the people we've been put in touch with, given the van back, and tomorrow we fly to Chile. I have to go and photocopy my passport now and hide it in my underpants, or something.
So, you should hear from us again somewhere in Patagonia, high on tequila and refried beans, or is that Mexico... who knows!

And announciung the first and last instalment of My Favourite Article From This week's "New Idea", I was very amused by this. Sound at all familiar?

No photos, as yet, of Beatrice's dragon tattoo though.