Its taken me a while to sit down and report on whats been happening the last while…but that tired old cliché applies – time really does fly when you are enjoying yourself. After we left ‘northland’ we drove down to Hamilton and enjoyed a luxury motel (complete with Jacuzzi, sauna, swimming pool and all that jazz) free to us! Courtesy of our generous new-found rugby friends who had paid for it but were unable to use it. We also cost-price scored tickets for the Lions v NZ Maori game on the Saturday morning and had a great day. Shame about the result – witnessed history in the wrong direction! First time the Maori have ever beaten the Lions…but the atmosphere was electric and it was great to be there. We crashed in the car that night with about 5 sleeping bags and a double duvet! From one extreme to the other…one noght riches…the next rags…we are heading the wrong direction! But its all part of the fun. Got to church in Hamilton called ‘Destiny church’ which was good. I was reduced to tears as the pastor spontaneously spoke of his love for his wife. Really beautiful. After Hamilton we went to Lake Taupo…stayed in a cabin at a holiday camp. Quite like an off-season ‘Heidi-hi’ Enjoyed a sightseeing day next including the Huka falls, the geysers and craters in one of the thermal fields and an apiarist paradise … a whole centre committed to bee-keeping….saw the bees at work inside glass hives… they really are incredible creatures. It has fuelled my interest and I am determined to be a bee-charmer someday. Of course we got to taste all the honey :o) sweet. Also purchased a bottle of fruitwine…made from ‘fejoas’. Are you proud of me mummy? Finding a wine I can drink! We travelled a bit further south and just managed to get a bed in a holiday camp in ‘Whakapapa Village’ below Mount Ruapehu in the Tongariro National Park. The next day we walked through the volcanic wilderness to a remote mountain hut where we stayed for the night and hiked back the next day via the Tama Lakes (although we only made it to the lower one as our attempt to reach the higher one was thwarted by severe winds…I don’t recall ever being so close to being lifted off the ground completely – but remember it is winter over here!). WE had the most bizarre experience returning to the village by a waterfall when Hannah’s little brother appeared round a corner on the route down! He is over on a holiday with his mother but we had not intended to meet them here…we didn’t know where they were and vice versa – it was unbelievable! Next we drove to New Plymouth via the ‘Forgotten World Highway’. If I’d seen Lord of the Rings I would say that this was that country but as I haven’t I cant quite be sure…but we did pass through a 200m tunnel called ‘the Hobbits hole’. But this road was the most amazing I have ever been on…really truly isolated and just as if it has been lost in time. 150 kilometres with only a handful of farmsteads…stunning scenery. Hannah was very patient with my photograph stops! I would love to do it again…perhaps on a motorbike next time. We arrived and got a nice hostel in time to get a shower and get down to the pub to watch the match…and had some grand pub grub too. Happy days. Back at the hostel with our baileys hot chocolates, Hannah studied and I talked to randoms. Ended up in a great chat with this Buddhist guy and talked till 4am at which point I started to think it was ridiculous that I had paid for a bed I wasn’t using… and we ran out of logs for the fire…so called it a night. On Wednesday we went to a totally brilliant exhibition about Sir Edmund Hillary and the Ascent of Everest. More than a bit inspiring…made me quite emotional at several points… I think would bring out the adventurer in anyone. Oh, and guess what…before he was a great explorer…Hillary was an apiarist! True story! After that we went a climbed a high viewpoint called Paritutu meaning ‘rising precipice’ to get the best view over New Plymouth. It was steep and a bit scary in parts…but we were rewarded with an amazing panorama out over the Tasman Sea and western North Island with the magnificent backdrop of Mount Egmont (a.k.a Mt Taranaki) – an active volcano. Apparently it is due to erupt again soon. Thankfully not today though :o) Further down the ‘surf highway’ we caught the sunset at Cape Egmont Lighthouse. Very beautiful. More exciting though, I got to talk to the old lighthouse keepers who live in the house just beside and have stayed on there since the light was automated in 1986. That was cool. We left it a bit late to get accommodation that night and had a bit of an adventure trying to find the isloated farmstay mentioned in our out-dated Lonely Planet guide for this quiet little backwater town. But we found it, and laughed when we did. Possibly the most random accommodation we’ve had so far. In Wanganui the next day Hannah met up with family and I spent a long time pottering around the shops and following a bit of the art trail for the town which was relaxing and enjoyable…and I was very good and refrained from spending my food money on the lovely clothes in the surf shop. And on Friday night we came back here to Palmy and I get to see where Hannah has been living. We watched ‘Ray’ (about Ray Chalres) and ate well. I slept :o) while Hannah milked the next day and then joined her at work at ‘The Celtic’ in the evening and watched the match – another unspectacular performance from ‘the pride of Britain’. Today after church I joined Hannah at the cows and had a wee go at the milking myself. Photos to follow! You really don’t appreciate until you’re in there how much work is involved just to get a pint of milk. Plus, the risk of working underneath the cows - you are below the height of their rump, and therefore on the receiving end of whatever is expelled from there. Which I was. Poo on my face. I learned to be more watchful and move quickly. So adding to my future bee-keeping I have dreams of having a couple of pet cows of my own for milk….so my home will really be ‘a land overflowing with milk and honey..’ haha! We had a nice roast chicken dinner tonight washed down with a nice glass of fejoa wine and watched ‘Mr Deeds’. Great stuff. Tomorrow we head to Wellington for a couple of days before our flights to fiji. I know its tough, but hey, what can you do eh? Hoping to surf out there as plans to learn here haven’t worked due to lack of swell, but apparently its reliable out there. But we’ll see. Much love, b x