After filling ourselves with a full english breakfast we hit the road again and made our way towards Rotorua. The drive was set to take us about 6 hours and on the way we drove through some amazing scenery. We drove past a volcano with snow peaks which was amazing to see in the glorious heat.

We stopped off in Taupo and had a swim in the lake. It was so hot in the camper even with the air con on full, so when we drove around the lake we decided to pull up and park and take a dip. We strolled around Taupo and stopped for some lunch before arriving in Rotorua. Rotorua is a great city to experience maori culture. The city is made up of geysers, mud pools and thermal springs - a lot of which were closed while we were there due to the time of year plus we were only there for 2 nights so we didnt get to appreciate it as much as we would have liked. A faint sulphur scent fills the air because of the thermal activity in pockets around the city. This is amazing to see, as you walk around the parks in the city you`ll come across a thermal pool bubbling away right So we arrived at our camp site and parked up to explore. The site had its own hot pools which we took advantage of and also a pool however the kids occupied that all day - so we stayed clear! We decided to head to the supermarket to grab some supplies for dinner and on our way (about a 2 minute drive from the site) Mark turned a corner and misjudged it and hit the curb, resulting in a very very flat tyre! After a long journey and hungry stomachs this was not welcomed! So we (and when I say we - I mean Mark) attempted to change the tyre and put the spare on. I called our rental providers and they told us we could head to a garage in the morning and it was free of charge because we were smart enough to take out full insurance. Mark worked away and changed the tyre while I took photos for your entertainment! Its agood job he paid attention when his dad showed him how to change a tyre! Sorry to my own dad who did try to show me once - I didnt really take any notice at the time, although we could have done with dads warning triangle!! Anyway we eventually made it to the supermarket where Mark purchased some well deserved beers to have with dinner!

We woke up early and had a phone call from our rental providers to tell us which garage to go to. We were told and went on our way. It took about an hour and half for them to see us and get the tyre sorted out so it watsed a little bit of time but we got back on track pretty soon. We went for a drive to the blue and green lakes and spent the day there relaxing in the sunshine. Mark went for a swim and I attempted to join him but the water was freezing cold so I much preffered sun bathing with an occasional dip to cool off! That evening (New Years Eve) we were booked in to see a traditional Maori cultural performance and meal - courtesy of Marks family in Christchurch for christmas. It was held at the heritage hotel in a theatre. We tooked into the food - seafood buffet sor starters followed by lamb, kumura and pumkin with gravey and mint sauce. The food was cooked in the traditional maori way - steamed undergraound. The lamb was the most delicious lamb we have ever tasted - I`m a big fan of lamb (my mum will tell you this is my request for sunday roasts) and I`ve tried some amazing lamb since I`ve been here - but this was out of this world! I cant even describe it it was mouth watering. We went up to fill our plates again and again. The hostess allowed us to because I think she took a bit of a shine to us - the room was filled with Japanese people who spoke very little english so she appreciated us being there I think. Our own table had a family of japanese and as we tried to make conversation they asked where we were from, we explianed in vain that we currently live in Christchurch but are from England, and they replied England? Ah, David Beckham!! Haha.

The Maori performance began and it was everything we expected and more. The dancing and singing was brilliant. I was called up onto the stage to learn a traditional womens dance using maori poi - linke pom poms on string! The women made it look so easy but it was soooo hard, I kept hitting my lady with the pom poms!! Mark was asked up to perform the haka. I wasnt sure if he would get up, but there was no stopping him, he practically ran up and was really giving it some. I think his New Zealand blood is starting to run thick! We were both given gifts for our efforts. After the performance ended we headed into Rotorua for a few drinks to see the New Year in. Its funny to think this time last year we were in Rio de Janiero!

The next day we were back on the road to the Bay of Islands at the top of the North Island. We had a long long drive ahead of us, about 8 hours however we had to pass through Auckland which was 3 hours away from BOI and the traffic was supposed to be terrible. It wasnt so bad, the people who told us about the nightmarish traffic have obviously never been on the M62 in rush hour, in stand still! We arrived at our campsite and the weather so amazing! This part of the country is known as the winterless north! By the time we arrived it was early evening so we went out for dinner. It was new years day so very few restaurants were open. We settled for a bar / restaurant with outdoor seating and tucked into fresh seafood hotplate and beef and chicken hotplate. Back at the campsite, there seemed to be kids everywhere running and screaming! We had actually booked a private site and this was far from it I think we were parked in the middle of the kids cricket pitch! Plus the campervan thing had started to get to us, I would say it was similar to sleeping in a coffin at this point! Its a good job we get on so well!!

So we were moved to a much more secluded site and really fell in love with the Bay of Islands, so much so we decided not to go to Auckland but stay and enjoy the BOI. For the last few days of our travels we hit the beach and enjoyed the sunshine. We cooked steaks on the bbq and ate it by a riverside as the sun was going down. We went to a place called Paiha to catch a ferry to Russell an island in the bay of islands and lazed around there. Our journey ended at Auckland airport where we handed over the camper and flew back to Christchurch!