Boys on Tour - New Zealand (+girl and dog)

Hi Everyone!

Ruff has felt a little left out this week as the infamous "Boys on Tour" hit New Zealand with a bang! - But thats not before he had a lot of fun abseiling, caving, rafting and climbing - no photos as it was a little wet for the camera!

Yes - Niall, Laura and Ruff took on Waitomo's "Black Abyss" - abseiling 35metres into the total darkness of one of the famous gloworm caves. A flying fox was taken in pitch blackness (pretty scary) before jumping into the black waters of the cave. We floated along, gazing at the beautifully impressive glowworms before crawling and climbing through the cave and up waterfalls. We finally arrived into the dark night - a very strange sensation as you still feel like you are in the cave - but suddenly notice fresh air, plants and stars (just like the glowworms)! We finished off with a welcoming supper of hot soup and toasted bagels.

After the thrills of Waitomo we drove east to the lakeside resort of Taupo - a fairly characterless town, but the gateway to the Tongariro walk - which we are unfortunately yet to start due to cloudy, wet weather. On the first day we drove op to Orakei Koroko - a fantastic thermal area - jam packed with geysers, mud pools, steam, boiling water and general thermal activity - a thoroughly enjoyable 2km trek. On the way back we stopped by at "the Craters of the Moon" another thermal area with steam jetting from every bush, nook and crevice - the walk around this park was quickened due to some heavy rain and one of us having no waterproofs (needless to say it was neither Laura nor Ruff)!

Upon arrival back in Taupo Sunday evening Paul and Chris arrived - touring NZ as part of their five month, ten country tour - in monolithic camper van "Frank the Tank." In true Luxembourgian form the first stop was the pub and the pub was only left nine pints (Ruff managed ten!) and a few wet coins later.

Monday brought a surprisingly sunny day and the five of us went on a decent walk (8km) along the crystal clear Waikato River to visit the small but impressive Huka Falls (four hundred tonnes of water per second pass over it). This was followed by a dip in an incredibly hot thermal spot by the river. The evening was spent chilling in Frank the Tank with games of cribbage and salami sandwiches!

Tuesday - being damp and horrible - caused us all to decide to stay in Taupo for another day - a break in the rain allowed us to complete a game of mini golf - won, frustratingly by Paul and Chris - and Laura almost cried as she led Niall until the 18th hole - wherupon she crumbled. Ruff played on his own and completed the course in 6 under par - the overall winner! (Chris came second!) Another night was spent in Frank, with games of cribbage, whist and bottles of beer to accompany! We are now spending a final day in Taupo - alas the last day of Boys on Tour - but it may end with a bang with the possibility of all the Luxembourgers doing a bungy jump - Laura and Ruff think this is a thoroughly daft idea and the time could be spent better having a cup of tea at the top and laughing as they get wet!

Tongariro awaits us as the weather forecast has improved - and we hope to write next week with sore muscles and a multitude of blisters!

Love

Laura, Niall & Ruff

Dolphins & Trees!

Hello All!

We left the big(ish) city of Auckland and the excellent hospitality of Amy and John (who could ask for more than a Sunday roast and an OK magazine on your bedside table!) first thing on Monday morning and headed North to the beautiful Bay of Islands. We had a night booked aboard The Rock - a fabulous overnight trip aboard a converted car ferry. Laura came second in the rubber duck air rifle shooting contest and caught a mackeral (Niall caught a sizeable snapper!) and we ate a delicious barbeque before heading out on a night kayak on the beautiful moon lit Pacific! The next day we awoke to beautiful views of the Island, a breakfast of Porridge and a Kayak to a remote Island where we were able to snorkel in a lagoon teeming with fish of all shapes and sizes. On returning to the Rock we spotted a little blue penguin fishing for its lunch.

The highlight, however was a pod of thirty dolphins that swam around the boat as the sun set. Babies included! They came so close Laura got a good squirt in the face from the blow hole of one! We also caught one playing with a fish (I dont think the fish was having much fun and the game ended badly for it!)

After disembarkation we drove to the nearby Harura falls and spent the night in a lodge. We then drove across the Northland to the opposit coast and magestic Kauri forest. We spent a couple of hours walking around and taking in the magestic trees and beautiful birds. We saw the 1st, 2nd and 7th largest trees! We then stayed in a small, remote and spartan lodge and Laura was reminded of her days in Ghana - spiders, powercuts and dirt!

We have today driven 300miles down the country, back through Auckland an on to the famous Waitomo caves which we will vist tomorrow. On our way we were able to take in a Kiwi House where we saw some Kiwis! They are indeed strange but wonderful birds - hald evolved into mammals and sadly severely endangered due to the European pests we have introduced - Laura has helped their cause by buiying some possum glove!!

Glow worms, lakes and moutains await and an update weill follow!

Laura, Niall & Ruff.

Few days in Auckland

A smooth, albeit lengthy, flight from Hong Kong has now taken us to the lovely city of Auckland. It lacks the bustle and variety of Hong Kong but has a beautiful setting of numerous bays and 43ish volcanoes that sprout up all around the place.

Unlike in Hong Kong, we are not staying in a tiny hostel. Laura's school and uni friend Amy and her partner John have very generously allowed us to kip at their new pad for a few nights. This has been perfect to allow us to discover Auckland at a nice pace before we head off to Paihia and the Bay of Islands for a night on the Rock boat. Laura especially is looking forward to seeing dolphins that often frequent the boat!

In Auckland we have been up the sky tower to take in some panoramas of the city. Thankfully the weather has been lovely so the views were great. Asides from that we have walked along Mission Bay, been to Kelly Tarltons' (King and Gentoo penguins being the best part of this oceanarium) and visited some local craft markets. Tomorrow we may head to Rangitoto volcano for a small trek.

Toodleooo for now and rest assured that we are all in fine form!

Niall, Laura and ruff

Ruff arrives in Hong Kong!

Well we arrived in Hong Kong after a journey that went very smoothly! Hong Kong is a great city and a shopaholic's paradise - we canot believe the number of designer shops - Laura wishes she was a millionaire!

We are all struggling a bit with jet lag and humidity but are having a fantastic time. We have walked along the harbourside at night - drank cocktails on the 30th floor of a skyscraper and had a genuinely Chinese meal with espresso style tea. We have visited some lovely gardens on Hong Kong island. We have been to Lantau Island to see the largest outdoor Buddha in the world and Po Lin monastery! Today we went to the Jade Market and became very cultured with a trip to an Art Museum!

We still hope to hit the heights of Victoria Peak but the weather is just too cloudy at the moment. We are also planning to dine out at Jumbos floating restaurant. Our time in Hong Kong is coming to an end though and we will soon be hitting New Zealand where more blogs will follow!

All in all we really love Hong Kong - a fantastic cosmopolitan city.

Love to everyone!

Ruff (plus Laura & Niall)

P.S. Niall would like to mention that we ate in a restaurant called 'The Gaylord'