We made the most of our last week and a half in the North Island of New Zealand: We visited Wellington, had a short stay on a working sheep farm, Matt got to be chief for an evening and we even went to Hell.

Our fast track started in Wellington, here is a view of the Wellington Harbour taken from the top of Mount Victoria. We had a cold day at the Wellington Botanical Gardens.

Our trip to Wellington was warmed by our Servas hosts, Russel, Lorinda, Sienna and Cade. Thanks very much for a great stay, wonderful conversation about New Zealand and travelling, a warm meal and a beautiful view after all those steps to your house. :)

After leaving Wellington, we headed to the country to a small towncalled Tiraumea to stay with Coral, Laurie, and Emmarene (their hardworking grandaughter) our next Servas hosts. Coral and Laurie have a 1,700 acre sheep farm which they've worked for many years. We had a great time touring the farm with Laurie on the back of his four-wheeler. It was pouring down rain and we were just balancing on the back of the vehicle as he zoomed up and down the muddy hillsides and fields. What a great ride!

We saw sheep shearing
and sheep on the move! Laurie uses well trained dogs to move the sheep from grazing area to grazing area. Here is a neighboring farmer on his four wheel drive with his trusty herding dog. Robin also got some knitting instructions from Coral!

We learned alot about farming and had a great time--thanks Coral and Laurie!

Our next stop was Rotorua, known for thermal springs and Maori cultural events.

Here's shot of Matt at the Craters of the Moon park with the sulfur steam coming up from the ground. It was a bit eerie and cool at the same time. The ground was warm to the touch! Here's us enjoying the steam.

We took the time to head to another more touristy thermal park, Hells Gate. Hells Gate had a thermal springs walking tour and a place where we could soak in the sulphur-y mud and hot springs. It was very relaxing, here's a shot of us after the mud bath. The sulphur in the water and the mud turned our silver rings green and brown, even after we waited a day before putting them back on. After this, we went to a great New Zealand pizza chain called Hell Pizza. Everything on the menu was hell-themed, from the seven deadly sins pizzas to the "deliverance" delivery service. It was heavenly pizza.

Up to now, we had not had much of a chance to learn about the Maori people. The Maori people are the first people on New Zealand before the European settlers. We opted to go to a dinner show run by the Maori people to learn more about their culture. The Tamaki Maori Village dinner was very well run and an enjoyable evening. We were picked up by bus and taken to the Village just outside of town. On the way to the Village, Matt was chosen chief to represent our bus or waka (representing our tribe or extended family).

Matt had to be strong and show a good face to the not so welcoming members of the Tamaki tribe. They were fierce! Unfortunatly, the dancing and the show went too fast to get any decent photos!

We were very fortunate to meet with Rosalind and Waaka, Servas hosts in Whakatane. Waaka was kind enough to show us around the village where he grew up and had some wonderful stories for us about the Maori culture.

Here is a photo of us in the marae or meeting house of Wakka's village. There is a story about these two which we'll tell you when we get back! Although we were able to go inside a marae at the Tamaki Village and at the Te Papa Museum in Wellington, this was a wonderful opportunity to hear firsthand about what the symbolism of the statues and the uses of a marae in current Maori culture. In addition, Waaka was very open about his life experiences growing up as a Maori and the challenges he has faced. A huge thanks to Waaka and Rosalind and Rosalind's mom for having us at their house for a very interesting afternoon. It was a great opportunity!

We took one side trip to Waitomo Caves, for an afternoon of Blackwater Rafting on innertubes inside the caves. It was a little more challenging than we expected, due to an earlier flash flood inside the caves. Robin was swept off her feet, by the fast water, but Matt helped her through. The glowworms lined the ceiling of the cave and look like light green stars as we (finally) floated through the cave. The glowworms are fly larvae trying to attract food.

Our trip to the North Island ended in Auckland, with our last day spent doing some sightseeing around the city. Here's a shot of the Auckand Harbour and the skyline.