And on to the South Island

Kia ora everyone! Since I last left you, I moved on from Rotorua on another bus with some new people and on to Taupo, which is known for it's massive lake and cheap skydiving. I did walk along the lake - it is really big. It is actually bigger than Singapore... impressive. But don't worry Mom, I did not go skydiving. I was so scared and the weather wasn't clear so I opted to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground. But after watching all the amazing films of the others who jumped, I am tempted. So maybe if the conditions are right and I feel up to it... I may just throw myself out of a plane at 15,000 feet!

From Taupo we drove to Tongariro National Park to attempt the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. Now this is not just a casual walk through a national park. This is an 8 hour trek across lava fields and alpine terrain. It is not to be taken lightly and unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating so the crossing was cancelled. Instead, we did a 2 hour walk to the Taranaki Falls. It was nice but it wasn't what I had prepared myself for. Tongariro is currently known for being the landscape for Mordor and Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films. It would have been cool to climb it, but it just wasn't happening. I guess it is another reason to come back to beautiful New Zealand.

From the National Park, it was pretty much an express bus to Wellington, the country's capital. Somehow we arrived 1.5 hours late so I didn't have a lot of time to visit Te Papa, the national Museum. That evening, a group of us took the cablecar up to the top of the Botanic Gardens for views of the city at dusk and night. Very cool.

The next morning, it was pouring rain and I had booked on to do the Wellington Movie Tour. I did it anyways hoping that the weather would change. Ted, the guide, led a small group of us around Wellington and the surrounding area to visit the sites of filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Early on, I found a large tree and just gave it a hug. In the northland, we did this to a Kauri tree and had beautiful weather for 3 days. So I gave it a shot, and by late morning the rain had stopped and the sky cleared. Magic! So, just give trees some love!

Anyways, I digress. The tour was awesome! I really got into it and posed for all the scenes (sometimes with props) and embraced LOTR. To be honest, I have only seen the movies maybe once and I would not consider myself a huge fan but it was so much fun! And when in Wellywood, you do a LOTR tour. And you become a hobbit, and an elf, and a brooding warrior, and a horse (okay, that was hilarious!). It was a great day and definately a recommendation.

So today, I was all by myself for the first time in a while. I have met some great people on the Stray bus and always had someone to hang out with. This morning, I slept in for a bit (and apparently slept through an earthquake at 7am... go figure!) and then headed out into Wellington. Cable car to Botanic Gardens - walk through the beautiful gardens (and maybe I hugged a tree again... just to ensure good weather) to the city. Then I did a tour of the Parliament which was cool. From there, I have just walked through the city and absorbed all there is to see. It has been nice to get back into a major city. I am a city girl at heart!

Tomorrow, I leave early in the morning to take the ferry to the South Island where I will take the Stray bus to Nelson, where I get off to explore. I have heard great things about the Saturday Market in Nelson and it is perfect that I can be there for that. Then comes my attack of the South Island... all in just over three weeks! Man, time has flown past! In about 1.5 months, my never-ending holiday will finally come to an end. Ahhhh! I just don't want to think about it.

So, talk to you from the South island!

Love, Lisa