On Tuesday we arrived in Rotorua, better known as Sulphur City! The whole place smells of rotten eggs due to the sulphur in all the hot springs. We were told that you get used to the smell after a few minutes . . . . hmm not so sure! We were in Rotorua for two days and the smell was still enough to make you feel a bit queezy at times! Apart from the aroma it was a really cool place and once again we kept ourselves really busy. The hostel we stayed in was called 'Funky Green Voyager' and it was moire like a hotel. We had a double en-suite room with a huge walk in shower - really nice and only cost about 24 quid a night! The place was really clean too and they don't let you go inside with shoes on, so a real homely feel!!

Whilst we were in Rotorua James did zorbing (www.zorb.co.nz) - this involves stripping down to swimming shorts, climbing into a huge inflatable ball with a bucket of water and rolling down a zig zag steep hill at full speed! James really thinks he's becoming an adrenaline junky now!! Still trying to persuade him to do the skydive with me . . . . ;-)

After the zorb experience, we both went on the 'Agrojet' (www.agrojet.co.nz) which is meant to be the fastest jet boat. It was awesome and one of those things where you're heart is racing and you've got a fixed grin on your face that won't wipe off for about ten minutes after your ride has finished - excellent fun!

During the evening we went to a Maori Hangi Concert. This is where the Maori's have recreated a tribal village and they take you on bushwalks, then you watch a concert (which involves Maori dancing, singing, Haka's, fighting and general entertainment) and afterwards you enjoy the Hangi feast, which is their traditional meal of meats and vegetables cooked underground - very tasty and thoroughly enjoyed. The only shame about this evening was that it was a re-creation and not the real thing, but it did give us some insight into the Maori values, bot in the past and present.

That was about it for Rotorua . . . James has said this was his favourite place so far, so well worth a look if any of you fancy a trip to NZ and even if your not backpackers we'd definitely recommend one of the en-suite rooms at 'Funky Green Voyager' . . . .