We got off the ferry onto the north island at Wellington, the capital city. We drove around a bit and were going to drive to a view point, but the road was closed so in the end we decided not to bother!
We went north up the coast then veered inland to stay just south of Tongariro National Park. The following day we went for a walk in the national park - unfortunately it was drizzling with rain a little and the visibility was poor so we couldn’t really do the walk we wanted to and we couldn’t see the massive mountains around us either! However the walk we did was quite good but it did just remind us of the Yorkshire countryside without being able to see the mountains! In general the scenery here isn’t as spectacular as the south island.
We then drove up to Taupo, the town on the shore of the massive lake of the same name. The next day we went for a short walk around the lake then did a skydive. We were really lucky with the weather - the days either side were dull and wet, but the day we did it was clear and gorgeous. The views were brilliant all the way across the lake and the mountains to the south.
The skydive was over incredibly quickly - although apparently its about a minute of freefall then 5 minutes under the canopy, it felt like a minute in total! Neither of us were very nervous beforehand, and even when you’re freefalling the thrill isn’t like a roller coaster or anything like that. It was completely worth it though despite the cost and we’d both love to do it again.
When we were back on the ground we drove to the Huka Falls which is a pretty impressive waterfall nearby. We then went upstream to where a small stream joins the river - and its hot! We went for a bit of a dip in there - its a very surreal experience!
From Taupo we drove up to Rotorua, the “Sulphur City”. The whole place does smell a bit because its a hotbed of volcanic activity. So far we’ve seen some bubbling mud and thermal springs, and also had a go in the fishpipe (like zorbing, but cheaper! Try google if you’re still not sure). It was brilliant fun!
We will be heading to Waitomo next, where we’re planning on going Black Water Rafting, then up to the Coromandel after that. We just hope it will stop raining soon!
