Waitomo & Wellington, New Zealand

Next up on our Magic Bus journey was a trip to the Waitomo caves. It was here that I got the opportunity to experience black water rafting. While not a high speed thrill attraction like its white watered cousin this particular activity was very unique and a bizarre yet enjoyable experience. After dressing up in the most uncomfortable wetsuits imaginable we entered the dark caves with just a tiny torch preventing us from some serious head injuries. Inside here we witnessed the phenomenal glow worms, a type of insect that lives in these caves and which glows brightly in the pitch darkness of its surroundings as a method of catching its prey. Once we descended far enough down into the caves we were greeted by a large deep stream of water, at which time I proceeded to sit into a small inflated ring. In pitch darkness we were dragged around in the freezing cold water while sitting in this blown up tube with the odd jump and slide thrown in every now and again for good measure. It was good fun trekking through such terrain even if the short swim in 10 degree water was not something that was welcomed by the group.

Next was a trip to National Park Village where we stayed for one night. This little town sits beside the Tongariro National Park, the site of the famous Tongariro Alpine Crossing, known as the best one day hike in New Zealand. To undertake this trek one needed to stay an extra day at the village. Unfortunately the Magic Bus schedule did not allow this, meaning that if you wanted to stay you needed to take either two extra days or forget about it! Unwilling to unnecessarily waste more time than was needed almost nobody from the group stayed behind at National Park with everybody (myself included) sacrificing what should have been a great adventure with some awesome scenery. This was something which led to widespread dissatisfaction among the group and perhaps Magic Bus should rearrange their schedule to allow the possibility of staying just one extra day here. It seems crazy that in order to do a one day hike you have to take two extra days!

After this disappointment we continued onwards to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It is a pretty little city with some beautiful views of the skyline available from the top of Mount Victoria and from the cute little harbour area. This city has a few interesting attractions such as "The Beehive", the Executive Wing of the New Zealand Parliament Buildings. It is so-called because its shape is reminiscent of that of a beehive. Wellington is also home to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa which is a great place to spend anything from a few hours to a couple of days. Generally speaking I am not particularly interested in museums and I find a lot of them quite generic and uninspiring but this one is quite an exception. This interactive state of the art facility is dedicated to numerous aspects of New Zealand, such as how the land was formed millions of years ago, its wildlife, the Maori culture, its famous artwork and its modern history. What is particularly impressive about the museum is that it is completely free of charge, a refreshing change from the usual high expense of travelling this country.

Wellington is nicknamed "The Windy City" due to its location on the southern tip of the North Island. When the wind funnels through the Cook Strait (the body of water between the North and South islands) it blows straight into Wellington harbour. Despite the fact the weather was incredibly sunny here and the temperatures were warm I still felt incredibly cold walking around this city due to these relentless winds. If it feels like this during summer then Wellington certainly isn't a place I want to be during winter time!

Tomorrow morning I take the short ferry ride across the Cook Strait to Picton and then swiftly onwards to Nelson where I will stay for two nights to begin two weeks on New Zealand's South Island.

Bye for now