New Zealand - North Island

I've arrived in New Zealand's capital Wellington and I have immediately been introduced to the reason for its nickname 'Windy Wellington' - there's a door open and I'm blowing away over here! Wellingtonians say this city blows because Auckland sucks, but I'm not so sure. On the brief tour of the city we did on the KiwiEx bus I thought it was a nice city, possibly better than Auckland. But I'll know that for sure tomorrow. I'm spending my one extra day in NZ here, to be able to visit the Te Papa museum. This is also my last stop on the North Island.

It took me a while to get used to this new country. Not that it's much different from Australia (not something I like to say to a Kiwi, by the way). No, it's the mode of transport that got to me in the beginning. I am doing NZ the KiwiExperience way, which basically means being on a bus for hours on end. And since I have very little time in this country, I can't really stop off anywhere. This means that I just see this absolutely gorgeous country flash by. I don't even have time for a picture stop most of the time!

Of course we do get off the bus every once in a while. So what I have done/seen on the North Island? Well, I had a 'traditional' Maori night, which I thought was v. tacky, so I won't go into that (though the food was good). When it comes to Maori culture, the Rotorua national park (with geysers, which make for the nicknames Stink City/Rottenrua) was a lot better. Why? Well, there was more information, but the best part of it was that we (the boys) actually learned the haka. Ever seen the All Blacks? No? Have a look how the real men do it! For me, that was one of the highlights of the Northern Island. Highlight #2 was black water rafting - going through a cave system on an inner tube. It was cold, dark and wet, but so much fun! Not for the claustrophobically inclined of - at times, the ceiling was a mere centimetre from my face. Exciting, but not nearly as hair-raising as the Taupo activity. There's one thing you simply have to do while you're in NZ, simply because it was invented here. I'm talking about a bungee-jump. I did a 47-metre dive over Taupo River. Terrifying? Only that tiny moment when you actually lean forward - that's the time when your body screams that you're mad and that you're going to die. For the rest it's just a huge adrenaline rush. I'm glad I did it!

Right, that was the North Island. Not much to tell? Maybe, but I've been told the South Island's where it's at. Things're only getting better!