Moving on
Came up to Rotorua the night before to hit up a hot spa bath as after my month of adrenaline sports I wanted to cool off a little, rest up, relax and get myself back to neutral. I started the day with the hot spa then decided to head to Hamilton and see what it was like for some R 'n' R. When I got there I decided it didn't have the right atmosphere for me so I had to find somewhere else. On a whim I booked passage to New Plymouth.

JUMP!
Took an early morning jog to the obstacle course by the Huka falls and realizing how unfit I had become (definitely no Prince of Persia anymore).
I hung out a little with folk round the hostel and then made a 2.30 call in to see if the skydive was happening... IT WAS ON! The adrenaline kicked in almost instantly and I swung from feeling sheer fear to unstoppable excitement. I got totally psyched. I was ready for it.
Got a lift from the company to the take-off area and got kitted up into our jumpsuits, harnesses and flightcaps. I met my 'pilot' who would be strapped to my back on the way up and he seemed to be a bit of a joker. We bundled into the plane and at 8000ft Roy began strapping and fastening our harnesses together. At 12000ft it was time to jump. The door opened and I watched the first few folk leap out the plane. As we slid along to the door I turned over my shoulder and shouted:
"Hey buddy!... What's the difference between a Ferrari and an erection!?!"
Roy laughed: "HAHA! Damn right! I DON'T have a ferrari! Let's go!" and we flipped out the plane.
There was a couple seconds of disorientation as we tumbled and then leveled out into freefall. I can't even describe what it was like as we fell. I've never felt anything like that before. The wind rushing and me screaming. After around 45 seconds the chute opened and we glided gracefully into the landing area. Was buzzing for so long after it.

...
Woke up with a terrible hangover and phoned in to the skydive company to find that, to my relief, the sky dive had been postponed to the afternoon due to adverse weather conditions. The last thing I wanted to do was jump out of a plane with a hangover. I staggered out the hostel into a small store that sold the cure of all my ills... IRN BRU! My hangover evaporated and I set out for a walk down to Huka falls. I couldn’t believe how clear the water was. It was an almost unreal blue-green colour.
After my second call-in to the skydive company to find the weather was still stopping the jump I decided to hit the climbing wall and had a brief scale there. I called home to talk to my Mum and Dad and then headed out with Bob to get a few drinks.
Oh and I'm 23 now

Taupo and the All Blacks
By god! No hangover! The bus trip was fine and arrived in Taupo with no problems and checked into the very quaint little Rainbow Lodge hostel.
I took a brief walk down to the lake to get a view of the mountains and got chatting to a local Maori by the name of Monty. He told me a bit about the legends and history of the Maori in the Taupo area and was really interesting. I took a walk along the beach then headed back to the hostel.
I ended up playing pool with two Irish guys: Bob and Garth and their Scottish friend, Sarah. They gave me beer and invited me to join in their bbq which made me fall in love with them. We all headed out then to watch the All Blacks game in a sports bar.
We all got chatting to a Kiwi named John who had a 10 kilo weight chained to his ankle (stag night, go figure). And then proceeded to have a VERY drunken night. To demonstrate my drunkenness I phoned my Mum and Dad at the stroke of midnight as a B'day present to myself... then promptly forgot everything they told me on the phone since the guys bought me Tequila as a birthday present. Awesome fun.

Slow start
Been waiting in Auckland for my friend, Lizzie, to contact me but she was taking her sweet time about it. Spent most of the day bumming around Auckland and caught the new Pirates Of The Carribbean film which was amusing. I ended up chilling in the lounge in the hostel and two familiar faces wandered in: Laura and Jenny whom I met up in Paihia.
We got chatting and decided to head out on the town. We first hit the Minus 5 bar which is a bar completely made out of ice... everything: The seats, the statues, the glasses you drink out of! It was awesome.
After that we hit my favourite Sushi bar and had some snacks and, most importantly, some sake.
After a brief scuffle of us trying to carry one another in various positions down the street we ended up in the Loaded Hog bar to drink some more and... of course... DANCE! Was awesome fun and the girls tried to convince me to come to the Coromandel with them the next day but I was already booked for Taupo so told them I'd meet them some other time. I drunkenly fell into my bed knowing tomorrow's bus ride would be interesting to say the least and fucking unbearable to say the most with the hangover I was expecting.

Waiheke island
Awoke early this morning full of vim and vigour and decided that I should go and conquer Waiheke island. I charged my way to the Ferry port and leap onto the boat and powered my way over to the opposing bay.
I took a (brief) wander about the port until I seen the stand that had mountain bikes for rent. I decided that this was probably the coolest way to see the island to jumped on one and donned the incredible fashionable helmet they gave me.
I'm pretty sure the entire island was made of hills that only went up... I swear it! My legs were killing me after my three hour excursion... but what a view! The place was so pretty. I'm thinking of going back early one morning and taking the 8 hour cycle tour round the island just to take in the bays I missed.
On the Ferry back I started playing cards with photographer/filmmaker named Janine. Who invited me for a coffee in Esquires later.
Once returning to the hostel I found two English girls, who were in the mood to get drunk, in my room. So I went out with them and our American room-mate, Zack to have a few brewskis.

paperwork and a visit to the cinema
Today I set about setting up my bank account, IRD tax number, phone and NZ job search membership. I finished up around 5ish and was scheduled to meet Laura at 6.30ish for a viewing of Superman Returns... I was, of course, wrong in the time that the film started so we ended up hanging around for about an hour until the flick. I personally really enjoyed it for many details which I won't go into here. Mostly a administration day but glad to get it out the way.

Russel
Anita and I had arranged to meet with the girls we played pool with the night before, Jenny and Laura, so we got in some breakfast while we waited.
We headed to the port to cruise over to Russell on the Ferry. On the way we met Anna, our German room-mate who was waiting for her bus so we convinced her to come to Russell with us. We went over and headed up Flagstaff hill to the where we got some sweet photos then headed back down so Anna could catch her ferry.
After a brief tea stop the three girls and I headed to long beach to scramble across the rocks for a while and have a bit of a laugh while doing so.
I grabbed my bus back to Auckland where I met the lovely Laura for some drink in Danny Doolans, which turned into a bit of a trek to try and find other places to drink.

Dolphins and pool
Laura and I woke up (a little muggy to say the least and hungover to say the most) and headed down to the port where we managed to board the boat within a minute before it left. Go team!
The dolphins came pretty close up and we made appropriate cooing noises and pointed lots at them. I decided to take a chance at a swim with them, so we were geared up in wesuits and masks and chucked in the cold water. It was kinda fun although they didn't really get all that close to us.
We went out to the Hole In The Rock which looks exactly like a hole in a rock. Laura tried to convince me it was made of fibreglass and was just an upscale version of the real one up by Ninety Mile Beach.
The cruise was cool and we took in views of a lot of the islands. Laura headed off around 4ish so I took a nap until I was rudely awoken by Anita, the small Irish room-mate, for beers... so i wasn't complaining. We hit a bar and challenged a couple of girls to a game of pool and got on really well with them. Anita and I even managed to win a raffle prize of a beer hat and mini rugby ball so we were well chuffed.

Kayaks and Bikes
Started the morning a little hungover as Kate and I headed to the Kayak shed to go for a paddle out in the bay. We were met by Nick, the barman from the local place we hang out and he took us on a cruise across the water to the town of Russell to get some breakfast. It was quite restful and relaxing out on the water and made Katy and I quite contemplative.
After the relaxing drift of the water we jumped on a couple of Mountain bikes and hit the road. We cruised up the road to Haruru falls and made friends with Johnny testosterone as we came hurtling down twisty, gravel-covered, slidy roads and got a buzz out of the speed. We took in Haruru falls then cycled back to town where Katy jumped on her bus.
I met up with two room-mates, Anita and Valerie, and we, once again, hit the Hot-tub... after Anita of course making lots of jokes about the conotations of jumping in a hot-tub with a guy you've JUST met.
They crashed out pretty early so Laura and I hit the bar where there was a birthday party going on. We chilled out there and maybe had a little too much to drink and I decided to join her the next morning for the Dolphin tour. Another fun night.