Hey all,

So we've done a fair bit since I've last blogged. It's nice to read all your comments!

As most of you know, I like to plan. I like to know what's going on, where and I'm going and when I'll be there. I knew travelling would inevitably change this, and it has - but all in a good way as you're about to read..

We got to Hamilton (a 6hr journey from Bay of Islands) and got the hostel after a painful 15 minute walk with our heavy backpacks. It resembled an old people's home - gulp. It was OK, but Hamilton was another city which should just be used as a base. We decided there and then (after paying the hosts, and then having to get our money back again) to hop on a bus to Raglan, which is the tiny coastal town about 45 mins drive away. It was by now 6pm and we were tired from travelling. Good news, the hostel (Raglan Backpackers) was amazing. It is the 'authors choice' in Lonely Planet and fellow travellers had raved on about it - so we expected as much. The people there were the highlight, a lot of people told us that you'll fall in love with Raglan, as had they, and one night will end up being two nights.. they were right. I mean it's no place I would live because the whole town is made up of two roads (a strange experience coming from London), but none-the-less a great stop-over. We met some more hilarious travellers and went out to a reggae night in one of the local places. After a sweet couple of days, it was on the coach again to Tauranga & Mt Manganui.

Tauranga is a town on the east coast with Mount Manganui as the main tourist attraction, which is a 230m high mountain to climb (small in comparison to some Mama mountains we're going to see throughout NZ). Things got a little bleak once we arrived at the hostel here, although conveniently located on the harbourside, it had us agreeably worrying about bed bugs - and no, it wasn't paranoia! The guy in charge, Paul, was a lovely guy but was itching when he was talking to us and to my surprise I looked down at his arms and they were COVERED in bed bug bites! (Uh-oh.) I asked him what they were (knowing exactly what they were) and he shrugged us off saying 'oh, probably, like sand-flies, mosquitos, you know..' and I said again, 'erm, are you sure? What are they?' Very naughty, he didn't tell us. So obviously we decided not to sleep in our beds, instead we slept on the couches in the kitchen because by now it was too late to search around for another hostel. (Sigh) More on that later..

After obviously wanting to cut our nights short in Tauranga, we had to do the Mountain climb the following morning so we could leave that afternoon. After a very dodgy, broken 5 hr sleep, we were on the bus to Mount Manganui. It was only a 2hr trek, but the views from the top in the summit were worth it. On our way back to the coach, we stopped in at the hostel to pick our things up and complain - we got our money back.

Once this was over, onto the coach to Rotorua.. Or as it's known here, Sulphur City. It STINKS here! This city is world famous for the smell, thermal pools/spa's everywhere and some extreme sports.

So in Rotorua, a hostel called 'Funky Green Voyager' was highly recommended on paper and by word of mouth and quite rightly so! (We both bought a BBH card, for $45 which gives you minimum $3 pppn off at BBH hostels. Within this $45 we also get $20 phone cards - very useful.) We have a massive double en-suite room with great facilities at hand. It makes the experience so much better when you know you are staying at a kick-ass hostel :)

Yesterday we went Zorbing - our first extreme sport of the trip, Oh yeah! Zorbing is simple enough: climb into a plastic sphere/bubble full of warm water and then roll downhill for 150m. Ketan and I went together in one bubble, but there was the option of going individually. You feel a bit like a foetus in a womb rolling downwards? It was great fun, and we got a lift back to the centre by a nice couple who owned a car. Although we soaked their car as we didn't have change of clothes.. woops.

The owner at our hostel recommended the popular Polynesian Spa and mentioned it's better to go in the dark because it's quite chilled out. So around 9pm we got there and it was so relaxing. I would go as far as to say I felt 'posh' ;-) There were 5 pools in total, all with Sulphur in them, of course. Some good for aches and pains, some good for your skin.

Today is our 2nd and last day in Rotorua. This morning we did the typically tourist attraction, which is Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. There was bubbling mud baths, steaming pools and many things alike - a definete must-see here. We went for a huge & authentic burger meal at the Fat Dog Cafe, yum.

Tonight we go to Rainbow Springs Nature park, where we also get to see some Kiwi's (The native bird of NZ). We have an early morning start to the Waitomo, to the world famous Waitomo Glow-worm caves - looking forward to that.

Keep reading! Love to all from the both of us x