Black water rafting in the glow worm caves

We woke up at 6 at hot water beach as we had a long drive to Waitomo - with the jet lag it was such a massive struggle! Our bus driver had also organised a walk to the gorges - we were very tired and reluctant but it was worth it. The gorges are old gold mining sites so there were lots of purpose built bridges and lookouts to explore. 

We spent a lot of the day on the bus but arrived in Waitomo about 3 O'clock. The hostel was lovely and we all had single beds instead of bunk beds - such a luxury! Waitomo is famous for its caves and the glow worms that live in them. The girls and I had signed up for black water rafting in the caves so we headed out. Our instructor was so lovely (and gorgeous which is always a bonus) and put us all at ease as we were all slightly nervous! We all had to wear head to toe wetsuits, jackets, helmets and white rubber boots which was not a very good look! 

Black water rafting includes sitting on rubber tubes and throwing ourselves off mini waterfalls in the caves which is definitely scarier than it sounds, particularly because it was so dark! Typically when they went to demonstrate this on open water, I was picked to be the test dummy which was very embarassing because I ended up choking on water. It's very hard to describe how incredible black water rafting was but it was such a laugh doing it with such a lovely group of girls. It was also very very beautiful, especially when we drifted through the caves in the dark looking up at the glow worms. They honestly looked like stars they were so dazzling! It also helped that our hot instructor serenaded us with a bit of Jeff Buckley! It was also fascinating to learn about the cave formations and glow worm life cycles - something I never thought I'd hear myself say! If you ever have time, Google it because the glow worms have the most bizarre life cycle I have ever heard of! We were down in the caves for about 2 hours and by the time we got out we were absolutely freezing! When we got back to the rafting centre we were treated to hot showers, tomato soup and bagels, all of which were very needed. Our bus all decided to hit up the only bar in town, Curly's, for a few drinks. It was so great to hang out with our bus because we have such a great group of people! Although I only planned to have a few drinks I ended up getting fairly drunk, which is just so typical me. But it's safe to say I slept very hard that night after such a fantastic day! 

Hannah 

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Maori village in Rotorua

We didn't have to get up until 8 that morning which was such a luxury! They also sold proper coffee in the hostel, so

I grabbed a flat white and we all piled onto the bus.

We had another short walk this morning into the bush and then we set off to Hobbiton for the Lord of the Rings/ Hobbit set tour. I didn't actually go on it that day because I'm heading back up to Rotorua on my way back to Auckland so I'm saving the best until last! It was still cool seeing the entrance and I got to meet Gandalf... and naturally freaked out. I'm such a Lord of the Rings geek it's pretty sad! 

The majority of our group had signed up to stay in a Maori village overnight which was pretty exciting. Before that we had a couple of hours to chill in Rotorua. A bunch of us just chilled by the lake with an ice cream as the views were pretty amazing. 

The Maouri village stay was by far my favourite day so far. When we arrived we were greeted by the Maori chief and when we got inside we had an informal welcome which included a speech in Maori and a traditional song. Our group had appointed our own chief and after he said a few words of thanks, we all had to get up and perform a song together that we all knew. Embarassingly we chose head, shoulders, knees and toes! But I'm pretty sure the tribe enjoyed it. We were the led into the dining hall and served afternoon tea. This consisted of traditional fried bread (basically a plain doughnut) with golden syrup or jam, and then carrot cake and cookies. Such a treat after living off pasta for a good few days! We were then led into our sleeping quarters which were Maori huts, built in honour of their ancestors. The rooms were absolutely beautiful and sadly I completely forgot to take a picture, but it was basically a huge dorm room. The beds were unbelievably comfy and the room was filled with carvings and tribal patterns. The chief sister came and explained all the meanings of each thing in the room, and it was so fascinating to learn the ins and outs of their ancient culture. 

We were then put into groups to learn traditional Maori games and activities. The first game was a traditional male game which involved standoff in a circle, chanting and throwing huge wooden sticks at each other. Needless to say there were a fair few injuries but it was pretty hilarious. We then got to learn how to braid using a green reed-type plant and a shell. Afterwards we then rejoined and got taught a traditional song that the Maori teach their children to help them with the pronunciation of the language. We had about half an hour to freshen up before the Maori celebration Haki which is basically a roast dinner that they cook underground using volcanic rock. 

Before the Haki we were treated to a traditional Haka, which is the war dance of the Maori tribes. The Maori would bulge out their eyes and stick out their tongues in an attempt to scare off their enemies in war, which most of the time did not work. During the performance we were not allowed to smile or laugh out of respect and if you did you were picked on by the Warriors - which made it very hard to keep a straight face! It was incredible but sadly I didn't get very good pictures because of the crowds.

Afterwards we were led into a mock up Maori and learnt about different parts of their culture such as war training, weaving and facial tattoos! The Maori are so passionate about their culture and I felt so lucky to be able to experience a part of their heritage. 

We also got to watch a video about the history of the Maori and the struggles that they went through after the arrival of westerners. It was heartbreaking to watch but also so interesting and inspiring to see how they have kept their culture alive. One of the guys who works there also runs a rehabilitation centre for young Maori boys who have been in prison, because apparently this is common due to the culture clash in New Zeland. Then finally we were served the Haki! The food was incredible and as a backpacker it was such a treat to have a proper dinner rather than the standard pasta. After dinner our kiwi bus was made to stand up and perform the song we had learnt in front of the entire dinner hall, which was pretty funny but also quite embarassing! The majority of the people there left and only 31 people on our kiwi bus stayed overnight! They had hot tubs and a bar so we spent the entire evening chilling out in the hot tubs with wine, looking up at the stars! It was by far one of the best days I have had in New Zealand! 

Hannah

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Beginners luck and Cathedral Cove

Waking up in Auckland was so disorientating, I was very jet lagged, hungry and homesick. I had to get up extremely early to catch the kiwi bus, so I quietly packed my bag, crept out of the sleeping dorm and set of down Queens street. Queens street is like Oxford street, extremely long and extremely busy. It took me so long to find the kiwi bus and I got hot very quickly from the humidity! When I arrived at the kiwi bus there was a huge queue and my heart sank, there was absolutely no way I would fit on the bus. I asked an English girl about the bus and I found out that I was meant to have booked a week in advance to reserve my place on the bus. I was so worried that I would be left behind in Auckland but the girl and her friend took me to the bus driver and he very sweetly let me onboard as a few people hadn't shown up. Most people on the bus had been waiting for days to get a space on the bus so I was so so lucky! The girl who had helped me get on the kiwi bus, Marcia, and her friend Rachel have adopted me and I couldn't have found better travelling pals. Funnily enough they're from the Isle of Wight, crazy that you can fly halfway across the world and meet people who live so close to you. The first stop on the coach was Hot Water beach, which due to volcanic rock as geothermal activity. This means that when you dig into the sand, hot water comes out and you can sit in it like a bath which I think is pretty amazing! 

We dumped out bags at the surprisingly lovely hostel and went for a mini bath on the beach! We were then loaded back onto the bus and headed out for a hike down to Cathedral Cove. This was one of my favourite places so far, mainly because on the stunning views and beach. However our bus driver had told us that it was a small walk and that we could do it in our flip flops which unfortunately was not the case! The joke was full of very steep hills and uneven footpaths, which on top of steaming hot weather was not all that fun. However the walk was well worth the wait... 

We spent an amazing couple of hours exploring the beach and sunbathing - ye perfect start to my trip! When we got back to the hostel, me and the girls made pasta together and then spent the evening eating chocolate on the outdoor sofas with other people from the bus. Jet lagged and exhausted from a crazy start to my trip I crawled into bed and fell asleep in seconds! 

This is the first time I've had Internet in days so hopefully I will be able to slowly putting up blog posts from my the rest of my week!

Miss you all! 

Xxxx

I've arrived!

I have no idea if anyone has the link to this yet and even if anyone will want to read it but just in case - I've arrived in Auckland!! It took me 37 hours of travelling and I am possibly the most exhausted/ jet lagged I have ever been! However I am so so happy that I made it here! Although the flights were long I was set next to some really lovely people - special mention to the lovely Joshua who was my travel buddy from Dubai all the way until Auckland! We bonded over our love of Alexander McQueen and Disney and kept each other company during our awful layover in Brisbane. I was also sat next to a really lovely guy who was from Wales and he was a farmer/ rugby player who was going to NZ to learn how to artificially inseminate cattle and sheep before he took over his Father's farm which was a very interesting conversation! When I finally got to

NZ I jumped straight on a bus which took me straight to Queen's street (the Main Street), I was very impressed with myself for navigating so efficiently - so very unlike me! So now I am sat in my lovely hostel, chatting to 2 girls who have both been travelling alone for months and are having a fab time, which is very encouraging ! I'm looking at the Sony tower from my window and feel ecstatic! Hopping on my kiwi experience bus tomorrow - let the adventures begin! X