End of an Adventure

I'm shortly departing New Zealand for London again, and will soon post all my remaining blog posts from this trip, and information about my next plans.
Max

NZ:- Taupo to Wellington

This week,I've covered the Southern half of the North Island from Taupo to Wellington. Photos will soon be up in the usual locations (facebook and www.picasaweb.com/maxbarnish). Taupo is home to the giant Lake Taupo in the centre of the North Island and is home to many adventure activities, which i eschewed. Upon leaving Taupo, we called in for a walk in the Tongariro National Park, where I was one of the few of our group reasonably suitably kitted out for the conditions, rugged paths with a serious wind-chill factor: not conducive to flip-flops and no jacket really, but my trainers weren't ideal either. Then we headed into the middle of nowhere to the River Valley adventure lodge, where, while others rafted the rapids, I went on a horse trek through the hills. It was the first time I'd ridden in a few years following a crash, and was a bit hary when the horse cantered (or galloped?) at least one paddock further than everyone else. Then, unlike usually on Kiwi, we headed straight for the Capital of New Zealand, windy Wellington, the highlight of this being the Te Papa museum, where we found a machine that played music track by track, which resulted in some interesting arrangements of pieces. For once I joined the crew on a large night out to the Establishment, where my dancing antics, whilst extreme by my standards, were rather tame compared to some of my fellow travellers. Finally, before heading South over the Cook Strait, I took a trip to Palmerston North, the highlight of which being the rugby museum. I hope to finish my unfinished posts soon....

Max

New Zealous Escapades in New Zealand (and photos)

New Zealand- land of the long white cloud, land of roast lamb, land of adventure sports. I've spent this past week travelling around the northern half of the North Island, endulging in activities both familiar and new. After a quiet start in the metropolis of Auckland, I joined the Kiwi Experience bus, which will take me around NZ, to venture North toward the top of the country. In Paihia I took the Excitor speedboat out round the Bay of Islands, before going to Cape Reinga, the very top of New Zealand, a location of prime spiritual significance to the Maori people as the departing place of the souls, where I sandboarded 4 times- a new experience for me. Whitianga was a bit of a washout but we did see Mercury Bay on the way to Rotorua. Rotorua is a Maori cultural centre as well as a site of geothermal activity, resulting apparently in a very sulfurous smell, which my awful nose was barely able to detect. In the evening, we took part in the Tamaki Maori cultural experience. We listened to Maori stories and music and dance before partaking in a dinner, where I ate so much even the guys thought it was ridiculous. On the way back, there was a ritual of a representative from each country leading a song from their country- and I took the mic for England- a drummer as lead singer is a scary thought, right? Incidentally, it was the second time I've led a national anthem, having done the Northern Irish one at Church camp a few years back. From Rotorua, we travelled on the see the caves of Waitomo before heading for Taupo, from where I write to thee. Photos so far can be found on facebook and Picasaweb at http://picasaweb.google.com/maxbarnish . The album is called NZ North Island: Cape Reinga to Taupo. So far, I've enjoyed my time on the big green Kiwi bus, even though it can be debaucherous and the focus is often on cheap thrills, which isn't my scene.

Max