Raglan

Aranui Caves

Last stop before home - Raglan the home of NZ surfing on the wild West coast. On the way we stopped off at the Wiatomo Glow Worm caves - here (we went on a little boat which floated into a cave filled with millions of Glow Worms which was amazing) and the Aranui caves (full of stalactites and stalagmites).

In Raglan we stayed at a lovely backpackers which was right on the waterfront. It would be lovely in summer as you could go swim, kayak and surf - definitely worth a trip back.

Raglan Beach

We did go and check out the surf beach but it was so choppy the sea was like a washing machine and no-one was out. More photos here

Viewpoint

Taupo

famous for its huge lake and good fishing of trout. whilst here we did a walk to Huka falls, and the boys went snowboarding for the day at Mt Ruapehu. an hours drive from Taupo to the snowy mountains. they had great views of 'Mount Doom' (from Lord of the rings)



snowboarding



at Huka falls

Waikato river(check out the guy having a bath in thermal pool!)

Napier

Napier is famous as it got hit by a massive Earthquake in 1933. all the buildings were then rebuilt in the style if the time- Art Deco. the buildings today have been preserved in this style and its a real retro feel as you walk down the street.



shops in town



art deco fountain. all lit up neon at night

famous tobacco building

WET AZ!!!

off for a 9 day tour of the North with the kids, and had the wettest week ever! record rain falls and flooding in the next town meant for a miserable time in Rotorua. we stayed in some funky backpackers during the holiday, and Niall made lots of new friends along the way..


rain in Rotorua



polynesian spa by Lake



Rotorua is a very geo thermic area, with hot bubbling steaming and stinky pools everywhere. just walking down the street you can see steam rising and smell the sulphur fumes!



Meg at a Maori Marai

we found this amazing cafe called 'The Fat dog cafe' whic was very cozy, funky and served great food in huge portions! a hot chocolate after a day out walking in the rain made it all worthwhile!


this is a bowling green..honest





bowl of hot choc mmm!

 





Matty's burger





Rainbow's end

This is NZ's answer to Alton towers....but a LOT smaller! a sunny day with the odd burst of showers made it not quite an ideal day, but then again we were bound to get wet on some of the rides anyways!

Space Alien Ride

Corkscrew Rollercoaster

clash of theTitans

Sky Tower

our last chance to go up the sky tower with Meg and Niall, on a beautiful clear day. We were rewarded with fantastic views of Auckland, and surrounding islands, and even a wave from a daring (controlled) bungee jumper on her way past! walking around on the glass floor was very strange, even with the reassuring sign "this glass is as thick as the concrete"

don't look down!

wave!

harbour bridge

Rangitoto island

a nice day forecast so we planned a ferry ride out to explore one of NZ's newest and least altered volcanos. only around 600 years old. there are no shops or water on the island so we had to make sure we had enough food and drinks to last us the whole day. it was a pleasant hike to the top and the view inside the crater was amazing. (see pix), and then we followed some of the trails to see rare ferns, and walk through some lava caves.

inside the crater


rest of fotos

view to Rangitoto

view back to the city