Nelson to Auckland

Nelson - the centre of NZ right at the top of South Island. Did the touristy thing of walking from the town up the hill to the monument that signifies the exact centre point of the country. From Nelson, we headed to a Maori village (Maoris being the indigenous people of NZ - many of whom still live a traditional tribal life). The "Flying Kiwi tribe" were invited to stay in their "marae" which is basically a huge room used for weddings, funerals, village meetings, etc. It was a beautiful building with incredibly intricate carvings - no shoes, food or drink are allowed inside. There is a formal welcoming ceremony for visitors to the marae which includes the "hungi" - the touching of noses. Later we had a traditional meal which everyone got involved in preparing. It is basically a huge tray of potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and meats - whole chickens, and legs of pork, mutton and hogget. This is then cooked in the ground for a few hours using a kind of steaming method. A fire is lit earlier in the day to heat up the hot irons buried in the ground. The tray of food is lowered in and covered with wet clothes, then quickly covered with earth again to create the steaming effect. Tasted delicious! The following morning, we went out on the water to experience a waka paddle - the types of canoe the Maoris use.The men in the group were also taught how to do the "haka" (the warrior dance that the All Blacks always do before each rugby game).

Next stop was Picton - a pretty little town on the tip of South Island from where you can catch a ferry to North Island which we did that evening. The ferry takes you to Wellington (the capital of NZ) where we spent the night in a hostel before meeting the new bus, driver and guide the following day. Lots of the group have now left as many were just doing the South Island loop, but we are picking up various new people along the way so the group is constantly changing.

The last couple of days since leaving Wellington have involved quite a bit of driving. The scenery on North Island so far seems less dramatic than that in the south. It is very much farming country (mostly dairy) and reminds me of rural England and Wales. We spent a night in the Taranaki region at New Plymouth. Yesterday, we went to Waitomo Caves which are famed for their glow worms. Took a black water rafting trip through the caves which was fun but a little bit tame if I'm honest. Being NZ, I was expecting more adrenalin to be involved but we were mostly just drifting through the caves slowly in our inner tubes (black water rafting or tubing basically involves making your way through a cave or canyon using a rubber ring as a flotation device). Only one jump and one slide involved which was actually a white plastic slide that had been put in rather than a natural waterfall slide?!

From Waitomo, it was a long afternoon drive all the way back to Auckland where we have just spent a night in a backpackers hostel. Did something different last night which was going to a 1940s swing dance night. Why you may ask? Well one of the girls from the trip is into swing dancing and asked some of us if we fancied coming along to see the band and watch (not to dance I hasten to add). It was really good fun - a little bit like a live version of Strictly Come Dancing without the judges.

Off to the Bay of Islands today..