Northern Adventures

So it's been a crazy last couple of weeks! I've been traveling through New Zealand on the Stray bus, with a group of really fun people (which of course makes it so much better) spending way too much money.(Photo: Cathedral Cove, Hahei Beach (Coromandel Area)

From Auckland, we drove to Hahei Beach, where we were able to walk to Cathedral Cove, and then lie around in the hot water beach - you dig big holes and the water is absolutely boiling!! but so nice.(Photos: 1)Callum, Me, Carol in a pool at Hot Water Beach
2) On the way to Raglan)

I learned how to surf in Raglan - it took a while, but by the end of it I was up every time. Definitely something to recommend doing. Raglan was really fun - it's a very laid back surfer type town with really nice scenery.(Photo: Me and Meryl coming in after an afternoon of surfing!)

With the Stray bus group we were able to have a cultural Maori night. On our way there we stopped at the Waitomo caves where we split up to do different caving activities. I went black water tubing through caves filled with glow worms. It was really cool, especially when we turned off our flashlights and just floated down the different channels. That night we enjoyed a hangi (a Maori meal), watched a traditional Maori show, and then were divided into different groups to learn about different Maori customs. My group learned how to do the Haka, which we then performed for everyone else.
(Photo: 'Chief' Ant at the beginning of our cultural night)

From Maketu (cultural stop) we went to Taupo and Rotorua. There was tons of stuff to do here - I went sledging (pretty much boogie boarding in white water rapids), but there was also the option to go zorbing (rolling down a hill in a big ball similar to a hamster cage with water in it), white water rafting (which included a 7m waterfall drop!), visit the geothermal hot pools (that apparently make you stink), or skydive. Quite a few people decided to skydive while I sat at the bottom with the others, thinking about how crazy they were to jump out of a plane...(little did I know, I'd soon be doing it as well!).
(Photo: Tongariro Crossing)

From Taupo we headed to Tongariro National Park to hike the Tongariro Crossing - known as being one of the top hikes in the world. It was absolutely spectacular! Definitely a must-do in New Zealand. (We managed to do it in 4hours and 54 minutes! We were determined to beat 5 hours. If you do it at a gradual pace they say to give yourself 6-7 hours.)
After a quick stop in Wellington, we departed for the South Island.(Photo: Tongariro Crossing)