New Zealand Trip Day 3 - Post by Stuart

Day 3 NZ Trip

I didn’t sleep well last night, every time I closed my eyes I saw the view from the Skytower looking down, thus waking me up in a cold sweat, I don’t think Jodi yet understands just how much heights effect me.

Anyway after a few good hours sleep I was back up and we were getting ready for the Auckland Harbour Bridge walk.

Well walk is a bit of a loose term here, it was more a documentary, or as I termed it a bridgumentary, the tour guide was a unit, his statistical recollection and his mathematics were both of equal credibility. This didn’t take much away from the walk though, it’s about a 2k span, with the highest point around 45 – 50mtrs above the water. It was entertaining but to stretch it out to 2 hours was a bit of a push. car's / Bikes seen from the Bridge. Vantage Corvette Belair 57 MVF4 996 and a few others, that's one of the more enjoyable facets of city driving, you get to see cars and bikes you normally don't see in NWNSW. The most entertaining part of the walk is standing opposite the bungy platform and watching the punters jump. The have a little room attached under the highest part of the bridge, if the guys in charge get it right the jumpers will just dip their finger tips into the water. We were back on the road around 12pm and heading to the Waitomo Glow Worm caves just south of Hamilton.

We managed to just make the 3pm tour which lasted about an hour. The cave was about 30mtrs deep and at its largest cavern had a ceiling about 16mtrs tall. I’d never seen glow worms before, they are very pretty, the cave operators, like almost every tourist attraction we have been to so far do not allow photography. At the caves they simply take your picture for you, on a blue back ground as you walk in and them superimpose you over some “typical” cave shots and sell it to you for some ridiculous amount on the way back out. The shots are that stupid they are funny, sun clearly shinning down on your arms and face and the cave in the background....... seriously man... ! This is a shot a couple took for us, the only one we were allowed to take as we left the caves.

So we ticked the caves off the list and headed the 90ks to Rotorua. Everyone said staying at Rotorua is like staying in a permanent fart, it does smell but it not really that bad. It’s actually a very beautiful town. The roads need a special mention, they are awesome, I wish I was on the bike, miles and miles of great sweepers so far, very much Tuono country.

Tomorrow we are doing, Karting, luging.... and probably jumping off something, we’ll see. We are doing some volcanic valley boat tour too. I'm suffering a bit of food coma at the moment after savaging a $52 / head all you can eat buffet. Until tomorrow.