What the Whakapapa?

Howdy chums

Time for a wee update on my travels. When I last spoke to you all, my loyal blog followers, I was in Gisborne. Progress has been swift since then. Here is a quick summary:

Gisborne - 2 days - lovely in summer, less exciting in winter. A fun visit nonetheless

Napier - 2 days - I love this place. Destroyed in a massive earthquake in the 1930s and entirely reconstructed in an art deco style. The place has an amazing history and a lovely atmosphere. If I was going to live in NZ longer term, this place would be pretty high up the list.

Taupo - 1 day - Nice spot. I actually didn't like it much when I first visited in the Summer. However, I take it all back. It is a wee bit touristy, bit then I am a tourist. This visit gave me one of the biggest highlights of my NZ tour - I did a skydive from 15,000ft. I know it sounds scary (and it was), but if you ever get the chance you have to do it. Amazing!

Taurangi - 1 day - This is the closest settlement of any size to the Tongariro National Park (the national park which includes lots of big scary mountains, including the 2 used for Mt Doom in the LOR films). My plan was to do the Tongariro crossing, an 8 hour trek which is recognised as the best 1 day trek in the world. This seemed like a bit too much effort, so I just drove my 20 year old Toyota up the mountain. I got some amazing photos and played in the snow...I was happy!

Wellington (via Cape Palliser) - The Cape Palliser bit was quite the diversion. I ended up driving for 9 hours that day. Was worth it though. Cape Palliser is NZ biggest seal breeding colony, and I was feeling like a seal burger. Only kidding, I didn't eat any, but I did get some nice photos of the little slippery freaks. Then it was onwards to Wellington. What an awesome city! Wish I had spent a bit more time here during my trip, but it was good to finally have a proper visit. For anyone visiting these shores, don't bother with Auckland. It's okay, but Wellington is where it's at.

So, I have now arrived in Nelson, my first stop in the South Island. I only have 4 weeks left! The ferry crossing took 5 hours yesterday due to adverse weather (usually takes about 3). However, the South Island is definately worth it.

Take care out there chaps

Txx