The end of New Zealand!

Wow, the past month has gone so fast! On our final day in Rotorua, Ashling and I visited Te Puia which is an old Maori village with a museum and lots of geothermal activity! It smelt pretty bad!! There is a huge geyser there which we were able to see erupt, and there is steam rising off of the rocks everywhere. Seriously the smell was unbearable at some points, it smelt extremely sulphuric, a bit toxic smelling! We were also lucky enough to see a Kiwi bird, they are really strange looking animals. They have no wings and just hobble around pecking at the ground, we were not allowed to take any photos, you will have to have a look on google for a picture. Our next stop was Auckland where we have spent the last few days.Unfortunately we didn't go up further north to the bay of islands, that will have to wait for another time! Auckland has been really great, have been able to relax here and properly take in the city. On the day we arrived, there happened to be a huge RNZAF ship docked in the harbour so we climbed aboard and had a look around. The next day we set out on a walk to Mount Eden which is the highest point in Auckland, a dormant volcano. It was a really nice walk up to the top with great views of the city. We then spent the afternoon in the Auckland museum learning a bit more about the Maori culture (although we are pretty well educated by now!) and found out a bit more about the NZ involvement in WW2. Then yesterday morning I woke to Ashling singing happy birthday with a big chocolate cake and candles. She spoilt me and I got lots of exciting presents like my All Blacks rugby top and a spiderman kite! After breakfast in bed we eventually got up and went for a swim in the olympic pool and both swam a mile before relaxing in the jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. The rest of the afternoon was spent in the park flying my kite, which worked surprisingly well. In the evening I went out for a meal in a small pub with Ashling and Liam before meeting up with our Kiwi Experience friends for a night out. It was George's birthday too that day so we had a great night eventually getting to bed at about 4am. After a lie in this morning we went for a long walk around the city, up to the bridge and went to the cinema. Another birthday on the kiwi bus today so a big group of us went out for dinner and had another great night. Most of us are leaving within the next couple of days which has worked out well, we will be flying to Santiago in Chile tomorrow evening, arriving tomorrow morning! Will have to work out how to avoid jet lag somehow! Our hostel is booked in Santiago and I will be brushing up my basic Spanish on the flight with my mp3's! Thanks for all the birthday wishes.