in wellington

well the night in rotorua was a bit of a disaster really, carole and i were really chuffed to be in a small 4 bed room with a shower and loo, but the 2 other occupants woke us up constantly coming into use the loo from the downstairs bar and then at about midnight one of them came in with a bloke and started doing drugs in the bathroom. was heroin. i was really mad. got the night watchman but there was nothing (!) he could do. carole complained in the morning and they said the drugs policy is that drugs are 'frowned upon' (!) anyway our wonderful bus driver then complained and got them kicked out.
while she was doing that we went into the Maori thermal village, really interesting how they cook their food and use the thermal water for everything. we had a walk around, saw a 'cultural performance' of dancing singing and the haka, and had a traditionally cooked steamed meal of sweetcorn sausages and steamed pudding.
went onto Taupo in the afternoon, some people did sky diving but my budget wouldn't stretch to that ... birthday present anyone?
the hostel there was lovely and we had a really peaceful night in our room - all in bed by 10 past 10!
yesterday we drove on to wellington and in the afternoon myself and Ira, an american on the bus got our Queen Charlotte Track sorted, including the ferry over to the south island, the water taxi to the start, accomodation and portage for our bags. its 71km in total but i am joining him for the 2nd and 3rd days. looks great fun but i think its going to be muddy and went as its due to rain here for the next week. great!
today i am off to the museum of new zealand, Te Papa, admission free (great - looking at my budget which is going down the pan!) some people went yesterday and its a great museum with a virtual bungy jump! Wellington looks like a really nice city although i am amazed its the capital yet its so teeny you can walk across the town centre in half an hour!
better go now and look at hiring vans for australia with Paul.
happy birthday emma.
cxx

ps emma is winning the email/text competition, most replies to emails and texts. there will be prizes.
ps2 bobby is losing. not even one email to his sister!